When the Chinese banking authorities finish reshaping Jack Ma’s empire, the only thing he may have left is Alipay — which would still be the world’s most popular mobile and online payments app.

Triad Business Bank opened in North Carolina shortly before the launch of the Paycheck Protection Program, which brought in many clients. CEO Ramsey Hamadi, one of our community bankers to watch in 2021, will have to work hard to retain them after their loans are forgiven.

The National Credit Union Administration juggled several challenges this year beyond the pandemic recession, including an inspector general's report about alleged misconduct by two former employees and criticism that board members had lost their old spirit of comity.

The Securities and Exchange Commission last week accused Ripple of breaking securities laws, raising questions about the future of banks' ties with the company.

The new legislation includes a provision sparing lenders from having to pay such fees on Paycheck Protection Program loans, except in cases where they agree in advance with borrower representatives to do so.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for more disruption in the new year with a Democratic administration likely to reverse several GOP-backed policies. More aggressive relief for mortgage borrowers, a rollback of Trump-era rulemakings and yet another realignment of CFPB offices will all be on the table.

Jack Ma’s besieged Ant Group Co. is planning to fold its financial operations into a holding company that could be regulated more like a bank, according to people familiar with the situation, potentially crippling the growth of its most-profitable units.

Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic consumed the industry this year, but other events, including a scandal at the National Credit Union Administration and a credit union under fire for lack of board diversity, also made waves.

Gilles Gade, one our community bankers to watch in 2021, led an effort that made Cross River Bank one of the biggest Paycheck Protection Program participants. He is ready for his team to pick up where it left off when the new stimulus package kicks in.

Brian Brooks, the acting comptroller of the currency, used a selective (and dubious) interpretation of the Dodd-Frank Act to argue for more say on when banks can preempt state law.

A look back at a year in which little went according to plan for credit unions.

Visa is accepting card payments again on certain adult entertainment websites owned by Pornhub parent MindGeek, while continuing to block payments to Pornhub itself.

The measure, just the second of its kind the nation, mandates that fintechs, factoring firms and other nonbank small-business lenders clearly explain the terms and conditions to borrowers.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, the agency issued a new legal theory of its power to let national banks evade state consumer protection laws. But some state attorneys general and consumer groups charge the federal regulator is attempting to sidestep restrictions imposed by Dodd-Frank.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors filed a complaint arguing that the unique bid by the San Francisco fintech is "merely a thinly veiled effort" to evade legal challenges to the federal regulator's chartering of nonbanks.

Under the terms of the rule, NCUA could exempt credit unions from some Bank Secrecy Act requirements on a case-by-case basis, provided there are no safety or soundness concerns.

The top Democrats on the House and Senate banking committees urged the Trump administration to pull the plug on any steps to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the pandemic still taking a toll on the economy.

One engineered a big M&A deal, another struggled with his bank's credit issues and another abruptly resigned. Here are their stories and more.

The proposal would require the government-sponsored enterprises to craft resolution plans similar to regulations imposed on the largest U.S. banks.