Natural disasters

Until last month, Altadena was a flourishing melting pot. Now, with thousands of houses burned and no functioning banks, residents wonder if it will ever be the same.

High winds continue to impede firefighters' progress in the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires.

Bankers are putting pre-established action plans for disaster recovery into motion as wildfires in Los Angeles sweep across the region.

As the flames continued to spread, banks closed more branches while others donated to relief efforts.

A trio of blazes in SoCal have destroyed over 2,000 homes and structures in neighborhoods with average property values well above the national average.

The wildfires add pressure to California's home insurance market, which has faced a growing crisis in recent years.

President Joe Biden called on Congress to return to Washington to make sure Small Business Administration loans don't run out after Hurricanes Milton and Helene devastated large swaths of the Southeast.

As CEO, Gary Fukuroku has helped turn the Hawaiian-based institution into one of the largest in the state and has raised significant funds to help those affected by this year's wildfires.

Storms earlier this month crippled local communities in the Green Mountain state. Banks, which have had to close branches or open alternative ones, are offering flexible loan repayment options and working with municipalities to finance the rebuilding of infrastructure.

Banks in Louisiana and Mississippi are finding less physical branch damage than many expected. Executives say the pace of the recovery will hinge on how quickly power and water are restored, as well as the cost of supplies and labor.

From delivering water door to door to turning offices into shelters, bankers in the state have adapted their hurricane-response plans to offer customers and employees relief from the past week's snow emergency and power outages.

A severe cold snap in the state has tested financial institutions unaccustomed to such weather-related disruption.

Branches in the Gulf Coast region largely avoided massive flooding. Now bankers must assess the impact on employees and customers.

The agency said national banks could close offices “at their discretion” as a safety precaution if they are affected by fires in California and Colorado.

The account would complement the existing Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and could be replenished annually if banks and credit unions use the funds to help when natural disasters and other crises occur.

From natural disasters to pandemics, the best business-continuity strategy may simply be to ensure you have a strategy.

Recovery from a massive storm that touched down near Nashville is in its early stages, but bankers are looking at fee waivers and increased access to cash for those who were affected.

The largest bank in Puerto Rico said hundreds of millions of dollars of its mortgages and consumer loans are tied to the parts of the island hit by the recent quake or still recovering from two hurricanes.

From power outages to branch closures and even homeless kangaroos, rampant wildfires have presented credit unions in Australia with challenges they've rarely seen before.

A group of 64 House lawmakers is pushing congressional leadership to incorporate premium caps and address a new methodology for assessing risk in flood insurance reform legislation.