Investments

The deal with Pioneer Merger Corp. is expected to close in the second half of the year.

The heads of the six largest banks aimed to promote their COVID-19 relief in testimony to the Banking Committee. Democrats said their efforts were insufficient while Republicans criticized the executives for taking public stances on issues like climate change and voting rights.

A New York court ordered the freezing of $560 million in assets held by entities controlled by Renren CEO Joseph Chen, Softbank Group and others, an amount pegged to a stake in the personal finance startup Social Finance, which is slated for a blank-check merger this week.

The fintech's investors include the actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom and Robert Downey Jr.

Despite concerns about the scope of information that companies would have to provide about risks linked to climate change, some of the largest institutions are seeking to collaborate with the agency as it develops a framework for informing investors.

Last year, many banks made big, splashy pledges to advance racial equity. Now some of those banks are seeking to hold executives accountable for those efforts through their paychecks.

The $1 billion bond, which follows similar issuances by Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Truist Financial, gives a big role to broker-dealers owned by minorities, women and disabled veterans.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway exited a bet on Synchrony Financial during the first quarter as the company continued to pare back its investments in financial firms.

The legislation would bar firms that receive government contracts from discriminating against firearms companies. Smaller banks have quietly dropped their opposition in hopes of gaining more municipal bond business.

The best-performing banks' revenue rose at nearly twice the rate of expenses thanks to mortgage refinancing and the Paycheck Protection Program.