Financial institutions

The Wisconsin company plans to shutter half of Bank Mutual's branches, including seven in Milwaukee.

The rule limiting the largest U.S. banks’ ability to enter into contracts with early termination clauses is intended to forestall a liquidity crunch if the bank is under stress.

The Houston company doesn't expect any material impact on its commercial-and-industrial book, though there is potential risk tied to residential mortgages. Management, meanwhile, has started rolling out programs to help customers recover.

The agency has a relatively new program designed to quickly get funds into disaster-stricken areas. The problem is that many bankers don't know it exists.

Several banks and industry groups are pledging money to help bankers and their clients recover from the hurricane and its aftermath.

In the coming year, bankers in Puerto Rico will need to keep an eye on how steep cuts in government spending will affect the island’s consumers, says José Rafael Fernández, CEO of OFG Bancorp.

The purpose of the stress tests program is to reassure the public that the banking system is safe, but the stress tests are not an independent assessment of financial institutions’ actual strength.

Their immediate effort is to ensure colleagues and clients are safe and that banking services are available to hurricane victims. The next big issue is preparing for the financial hit banks and customers will take from wind and water damage.

Studio Bank aims to become the first de novo in Nashville in nearly a decade.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is calling on the FDIC to hold a public hearing on SoFi's application for deposit insurance.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika is questioning the sincerity of recent steps by the FDIC to encourage de novo applications.

An ex-banker running for governor has proposed the idea. It's a political perennial, but industry officials are nonetheless raising concerns.

Readers weigh in on the tax-exempt status of credit unions, SoFi's application for an industrial loan company charter, ideas for mortgage policy reforms and more.

The Boston company — a division of the Spanish banking giant Banco Santander — announced that the Federal Reserve has terminated a 2014 written agreement barring it from declaring dividends without central bank approval.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika is using his short time in office to open a debate about the separation of banking and commerce, which he says is anti-competitive, stifles diversification and may limit regulators' options in times of crisis.

Bank Mutual was still in talks to buy a bank roughly its own size when it began exploring a sale. The move allowed Bank Mutual to quickly find a buyer after its planned acquisition fell through.

The agency's statement comes as Tropical Storm Harvey gets closer to the Texas shore.

Bank of the Ozarks, Home BancShares and Simmons First have used acquisitions and a business-friendly environment in their home state to become regional powers.

Not only did Walmart's bid for an industrial loan company galvanize bankers, it also turned the ILC world upside down.

Financial institutions increasingly depend on large tech companies such as Google and Apple for infrastructure, said the group that runs the World Economic Forum, stopping well short of recommending regulatory changes.