Interest rates

The Westbury, N.Y., company is angling for an acquisition as it approaches the $50 billion-asset mark.

Monetary policy was intended to act as an accelerant for an economy in recession, and did in fact accomplish that goal early on; however, its benefits have waned, if not reversed, over time.

Wintrust’s mortgage revenues fell in the first quarter, but net interest income picked up the slack.

Negative interest rate policies have not been shown to speed up spending or borrowing. In some cases, countries with such policies have seen their savings rates continuing to climb.

Amid a rising rate environment, political uncertainty and rising delinquency, credit unions can still take steps to protect their bottom lines.

Banks eagerly raised their prime rates after the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike, but the debate about how they should react on the deposit side is robust, and conversations are beginning on how to respond on the investment portion of the balance sheet. Here is a sample of the lively discussion that is emerging.

It is easy for banks to get caught up in what appears innovative but ends up being for show.

Lower tax rates won’t be unqualified good news for banks, as a lower rate would reduce the savings that they get from making tax-exempt loans to cities, counties and other governmental agencies.

Simultaneous spikes in home prices and mortgage rates have put an unusual squeeze on borrowers' purchasing power and require lenders to be proactive about protecting their loan pipelines.

At its February meeting, the NCUA Board approved a routine measure to reauthorize an 18% interest rate cap on loans, but suggested that it’s time for Congress to make some changes.

Banks are helping customers build healthy financial habits through their apps. The tools could also strengthen customer retention when rates go up.

Traditional banks may need to think twice about putting off higher rates on CDs and other deposit products. That’s because freer-spending online banks are adding deposits faster than they are, and more Fed rate hikes are expected to fuel that trend.

Three midsize banks projected increases in loans this year in the latest round of earnings discussions, but their levels of optimism varied, and their commercial lending strategies in some cases conflicted.

The U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal by Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, refusing to stop antitrust lawsuits that accuse some of the world’s largest banks of conspiring to rig Libor.

Wells Fargo faces an economic environment that may not be particularly suited for the way the bank is structured. Also: are you brave enough to make bitcoin a part of your retirement portfolio?

Any economic environment, including this one, has risks but it is unclear whether banks are sufficiently worried about what lies ahead.