Financial institutions

Year to date through Jun. 30, 2017. Dollars in thousands.

Full-time equivalent, as of Jun. 30, 2017. Dollars in thousands.

Year to date through June 30, 2017. Dollars in thousands.

Freeing a number of big banks from enhanced oversight, including capital requirements, could motivate CEOs to pursue deals. Still, other impediments could prevent a flood of large mergers.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg on Tuesday opposed efforts to roll back “core reforms” to bank regulation that were implemented after the 2008 financial crisis, but said some review of the Dodd-Frank law is warranted.

Bipartisan proposal would remove the SIFI label from more than two dozen banks; European regulator cautions investors on the risks as bitcoin price plunges.

In his first major move as CEO, Charlie Scharf has made several management changes at Bank of New York Mellon.

The planned sale will also include $70 million of loans in southern California.

Sterling Bancorp in New York is determined to turn Astoria Financial's largely residential operation into a commercial powerhouse. While investors are skeptical, CEO Jack Kopnisky has proven in the past that such an ambitious plan is doable.

Outsiders gained access to customer information at Southern National Bancorp of Virginia using a malicious email. Other financial institutions, meanwhile, are implementing policies in hopes of avoiding the same fate.

Ronald O’Hanley withdrew from law school at Vanderbilt University in 1983 after admitting to plagiarism while editor-in-chief of the school’s law review, according to a news report.

The authority of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to label a firm a “systemically important financial institution” triggers duplicative regulation even if banklike rules are not appropriate to the company.

Fintechs should learn to value risk management — and the necessary bureaucracy that comes with it, bankers said this week in defending themselves again criticism that they are a pain in the neck to work with.

Endeavor Bank in San Diego aims to be the third new bank to open this year. There is hope that as many as eight new institutions could open in 2018.

Mobile banking, oddly enough, is redefining the role of call center agents as customers handle routine tasks on their smartphones and reach out for help with bigger-picture questions.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika called for reopening the debate over the barrier between banking and commerce, saying there is evidence removing it could benefit small banks.

The heads of some of the largest U.S. banks are calling for a new security-focused mindset among executives, better forms of ID and collective action in the aftermath of the Equifax breach.

The companies' recently launched partnership furthers the argument that the banking and fintech industries might be better served working together rather than competing.

Capital Corps, led by Steven Sugarman, aims to provide financing to homeowners and small businesses that it believes are overlooked by banks. The firm features several former Banc of California executives.

Add MUFG Union to the roster of traditional banks launching a digital division that aims to grab deposits. PurePoint is going up against some more established competitors who are evolving their strategies.