Interest rates

Federal and state policymakers wagged their fingers this week at high-cost lenders that might be looking to team with banks to evade a 36% ceiling on interest rates.

Christopher Maher, who has announced seven bank deals since 2015, says a stable rate outlook will help buyers and sellers crunch merger numbers.

Negative benchmark interest rates are becoming commonplace in Europe and Japan. Here’s what US credit unions need to know in case that happens here.

David Becker, who founded First Internet Bank two decades ago, says traditional banks' digital-only ventures are only making his bank look more mainstream.

In the Fed's quest to bring inflation back to its 2% target, Gov. Brainard recommended pursuing a policy she called “flexible inflation averaging.”

Banks need to manage margins more actively — including the use of new modeling technology — in the current low-interest-rate environment.

Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said the U.S. has no need for negative interest rates because its economy is strong, unlike other regions that have employed the tricky strategy.

The once-acquisitive company appears ready to come off the sidelines, but will it be as a buyer or seller?

A proposal to revise how the agency calculates the restrictions for less than well-capitalized banks relies on faulty methodology and ignores competition from fintechs and credit unions, according to the industry.

As the Federal Reserve prepares for its October meeting, many institutions are waiting to see how the board's actions might impact the ongoing war for deposits.

Concerns over banks’ level of preparation have led to worries about disruptions in the lending market, and some financial institutions warn that a new interest rate benchmark could cause lenders to pull back on credit.

The Ohio company, scheduled to report third-quarter results Thursday, blamed the decision on the squeeze interest rates are putting on revenue.

Santander Consumer is planning to attract online deposits via a national platform that could rival Goldman Sachs’s Marcus; HSBC is now in retrenchment mode after aiming for growth.

Count Citizens Financial’s Bruce Van Saun among those who think interest rate cuts could halt by mid-2020. The key, he says, is to focus on delivering services customers are willing to pay fees for and to skillfully reprice deposits until then.

The Minneapolis company attributed the uptick to new tech tools, additional loan officers and other process improvements — not to mention the refi boom fueled by lower rates. It’s a formula other banks are expected to copy.

They’ve long used their marketing muscle to wrest deposit share from smaller competitors. Now, amid growing concerns that the economy is weakening, they could be benefiting from consumers’ flight to safety.

Net interest income rose just 1%, but the bank rode a surge in advisory and other fees to beat profit estimates.

Its quarterly results show lower rates and emerging credit risks can be overcome. Whether most banks have all the same levers to pull is another matter.

The state's Democratic-controlled Legislature has enacted laws establishing data privacy rights, giving municipalities the ability to set up public banks, and requiring standardized disclosures on small-business loans, among other issues. Lawmakers elsewhere are taking notice.

The GSEs will hold onto a combined $45 billion as they start the process of going private; PayPal becomes the first foreign firm to win approval to enter the country’s payments market.