Interest rates

Two new academic research papers consider what the Fed is trying to communicate and what it means.

Banks including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have pulled back on financing for offices and other commercial real estate following a record burst of lending in the first half of this year. 

More U.S. consumers are saddled with credit card debts for longer periods of time, according to a survey, struggling to pay down amid high inflation and rising interest rates.

The average rate on variable-rate cards rose above 18% this week, the highest level since 1996, according to data from Bankrate.com. The industry has been enjoying large profits, which has caught the attention of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A shift is underway at the Federal Reserve in how to describe neutral — the interest rate level that neither stimulates nor restrains growth — as it debates how much higher to hike.

The Federal Reserve's balance-sheet unwind is set to ramp up this week, which means the central bank will finally begin unloading the Treasury bills it started amassing almost three years ago.

Directors at two of the Federal Reserve's 12 regional branches favored a 100-basis-point increase in the discount rate in July, minutes of discount-rate meetings show.

U.S. central bankers offered divergent signals over the size of the next interest rate hike, with St. Louis's James Bullard urging another 75-basis-point move while Kansas City's Esther George struck a more cautious tone.

An account of the debate at the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting, set to be published after two weeks of whiplash on Wall Street, will probably offer clues as to what would push the central bank to go big with tightening yet again in September.

A federal judge in New York vacated the guilty plea of a former Deutsche Bank trader who admitted to conspiring with others to manipulate the Libor interest rate benchmark, after an appeals court overturned the convictions of two of his ex-colleagues earlier this year.

The three-month London interbank offered rate for dollars climbed to a nearly 14-year high as traders brace for steady interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, backing away from speculation the central bank will ease up as the economy shows signs of cooling. 

The last time inflation burned hot, consumers could put money in the bank and watch it grow like the prices on store shelves, easing much of the pain. Not this time — and that’s stoking profits for U.S. lenders.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell brushed off concerns that rapidly tightening monetary policy could disrupt the financial system. Some economists and policy experts beg to differ, raising concerns about loan defaults or even the collapse of a key institution or counterparty.

Bank of America is keeping to its original hiring plans despite challenging economic conditions that have prompted others to pull back, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said.

Almost 100% of small-bank executives who responded to a recent IntraFi survey say they expect the U.S. economy to fall into a recession by next year. The top reason why: an overcorrection by the Federal Reserve as the central bank tries to tame inflation.

The Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes are leading corporate clients to demand higher deposit rates, according to industry consultants. Some banks are better positioned than others to weather the changing landscape.

A dirty little secret in a $1.2 trillion world of credit is getting exposed as the Wall Street rout deepens: Private debt is now the cheaper financing option for big-ticket leveraged borrowers than the ailing public market — upending industry norms.

JPMorgan Chase is laying off hundreds of home-lending employees and reassigning hundreds more this week as rapidly rising mortgage rates drive down demand in what had been a red-hot housing market.

Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, Truist Financial and PNC Financial were among the banks that said they are raising their prime lending rates from 4.0% to 4.75%.

Some of the riskiest loans given to millennials and Gen Z shoppers for clothes and electronics — and neatly repackaged for investors — are dropping in value.