Leveraged loans

From scams to watch out for to the role banks play in an SBA virus loan program, news about the pandemic's impact was everywhere. Also: As State Farm bows out, U.S. Bank seizes an expansion opportunity; CFPB sues Fifth Third for allegedly opening phony accounts; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Banks may be protected from a direct hit, but they have invested in vehicles that include such loans, potentially exposing them to defaults.

Wells Fargo appears to be outpacing its rivals in the API race; CFPB's unexpected showdown with Citizens; Varo gets vital FDIC OK for bank charter; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Regulators are alarmed about banks' rising exposure to high-risk corporate credits and want more data on how they would perform in a recession.

Certain loan segments are showing signs of deterioration, but consumer lending and digital banking are bright spots. Meanwhile, bankers are eyeing opportunities to improve efficiency, add scale and take advantage of M&A disruption. Here's what to expect from smaller regionals in the year ahead.

The board- and management-level handing of CRE concentration was the chief concern of FDIC examiners, making up more than 56% of all the supervisory recommendations regulators made in the two-year period.

The bank is the first U.S. one approved for a majority-owned securities unit in China; the FSB said banks must get serious about replacing the benchmark.

Barely noticed in a corner of the financial markets, leveraged loans originally worth about $40 billion are staging their own private meltdown.

Members of the House Financial Services Committee cited leveraged lending, cybersecurity and the switch to a new interest rate benchmark among potential systemic risks that keep them up at night.

By turning to investors outside traditional banking, private-equity firms are finding it easier than ever to get loans to finance their buyouts of corporations that are nowhere close to being profitable.