Investments

Do impact investments — which are made with the intention of fostering social or environmental benefits — underperform? Those involved in the sector answer with a resounding "no."

The two companies have created a robo-adviser with financial literacy tools to help people understand the basics of investing as they assemble their first portfolio.

PayKey enables bank customers to instantly transfer money through popular social media networks and messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Twitter.

Bitcoin, and the blockchain system that powers it, is one of several virtual currencies and the value of one bitcoin skyrocketed more than 300 percent in the last year.

In 1981, a Louisiana banker sarcastically offered advice to a money market fund chasing deposits in his market, presaging today’s battles over nonbanks encroaching on banks' turf.

Post-crisis financial rules have made the business of project lending less profitable for commercial banks. Foreign competitors have stepped in to fill the void, but U.S. banks can carve out a niche as bond offering managers and financial advisers.

Services with simpler fees and intuitive digital designs might appeal to younger users, but millennials have much more on their minds than saving for retirement.

TIAA, the nearly 100-year-old retirement and insurance company, is starting an online robo-adviser this week, making it the latest firm to use automated advice to win customers in a rapidly changing asset-management industry.

Contrary to others’ opinion, interest on excess reserves is part of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy that serves to reduce volatility and encourage growth.

Banks and nonbanks are typically foes, but banks made 34 nonbank M&A deals through mid-May, emerging as buyers in two-thirds of them. Many buyers are eager to pad fee income by adding investment, specialty finance or insurance firms; sellers are typically looking to cut costs. Here is a roundup of such deals this year.