Financial institutions

On Sep. 30, 2018. Dollars in thousands.

Organizers are planning to raise up to $25 million for Tandem Bank.

On Sep. 30, 2018. Dollars in thousands.

Before the financial crisis, federal and state regulators unabashedly pitched their charters to banks as the better choice. That's happening again, despite warnings that such jousting might result in lax oversight.

Spirit Community Bank is the 15th bank to get the agency's approval this year. That list also includes Community Bank of the Carolinas, which was approved in early December.

Investors are spooked by banks' exposure to oil and other sectors threatened by a global slowdown as well as by policy uncertainties, but banks argue credit quality is strong and recession fears are exaggerated.

A big splash by Fifth Third, a bid by WSFS to reinvent itself and some bold long-distance expansions highlighted a year where deal activity held steady but premiums rose.

More banks were approved this year than any since the financial crisis. But challenges with raising capital, and a change in the political landscape, could deter prospective applicants next year.

The FDIC has approved more new banks this year than in the last four years combined. Here is a look at the class of 2018.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has gotten the ball rolling for financial technology firms trying to operate a national platform, but the FDIC and Federal Reserve should act to remove other policy roadblocks.

An accusation of sexual discrimination plays out in court for BNP Paribas; Jeffries’ top execs chastise Wall Street men over #MeToo paranoia; blockchain startup loses Blythe Masters; and RBS might make history with a female CEO-CFO duo.

The payments processor was among numerous firms earlier this year to withdraw an ILC charter application over questions about its plan.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell demurs on regulatory relief for largest banks while saying he is “open” to countercyclical buffer.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has gotten the ball rolling for financial technology firms trying to operate a national platform, but the FDIC and Federal Reserve should act to remove other policy roadblocks.

As Congress moves closer to its Dec. 21 deadline to keep the government funded, the outlook for more financial services regulatory relief continues to worsen.

The alternative is waiting for state and federal regulators to take steps that could disrupt the flow of capital and put some firms out of business.

Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., will join the panel as their caucus loses two other committee members who suffered election defeats.

Synovus has given CFO Kevin Blair the additional title of COO. He will oversee three business lines, plus tech, operations and product and treasury management.

Millyard Bank aims to become the state's second post-crisis de novo. Primary Bank opened in 2015.

An agency report said servicing portfolios have shrunk by nearly half in 10 years as much of the mortgage market has shifted to nonbanks.