Commercial

Nashville bank execs launch Sonata to serve fast-food industry

Dan Dellinger and Farzin Ferdowsi, with their third venture, aim to solve turnover and banking access issues in the quick-service space, and add telehealth and financial literacy to help franchisees retain talent.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 12, 2022

BM Technologies’ Luvleen Sidhu bets on BaaS, bank charter

“For those that can combine the charter with the technology, that is the most competitive way to play in the banking-as-a-service space,” said Luvleen Sidhu, BM Technologies’ chair, CEO and founder.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 10, 2022

FDIC signals greater scrutiny of commercial real estate loans

“CRE loan concentrations add dimensions of risk that necessitate continued attention from banks and their regulators, especially as the pandemic lingers and uncertainties remain,” the FDIC said last week.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 9, 2022

New laws extend statute of limitations to 10 years in PPP, EIDL fraud cases

Two laws signed Friday give prosecutors the same time frame to bring fraud charges against fintechs as they have for banks in cases tied to COVID-19 relief loan applications.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 8, 2022

TD to buy Wall Street brokerage firm Cowen for $1.3B

TD sold 28.4 million nonvoting common shares of its Charles Schwab stock to fund the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 2, 2022

Grasshopper Bank raises $30M amid push into SMB lending, BaaS

The fresh capital comes as the bank reports 192% year-over-year growth in core deposits amid an effort to broaden its focus to serve small businesses and offer banking-as-a-service (BaaS), in addition to targeting the startup market.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 1, 2022

How Cogent Bank treats cannabis account holders like ‘any other client’

To help broaden the lender’s cannabis banking program, Cogent Bank partnered with Green Check Verified, a fintech that works with banks to provide compliant cannabis banking services.

By Anna Hrushka • July 29, 2022

Grasshopper Bank leans into BaaS

The deal to offer banking-as-a-service to fintech Treasure Financial marks a first for the New York City-based bank, which, under CEO Mike Butler, has broadened its focus to include the small-business sector.

By Anna Hrushka • July 27, 2022

Credit Suisse names new CEO, launches review of business amid $1.7B loss

Ulrich Körner, the bank’s asset-management chief, takes his new role Aug. 1 as the Swiss lender embarks on a strategy to cut costs and de-emphasize its investment bank.

By Dan Ennis • July 27, 2022

Truist names new diversity, equity and inclusion chief

Dominica Groom Williams’ predecessor, Wendy McSweeney, has transitioned to a role on the bank's new environmental, social and governance and impact advisory team.

By Anna Hrushka • July 26, 2022

Truist eyes M&A growth amid rising expenses

The initiative comes as the bank said investments in wages, hiring and technology are expected to contribute to a 2% to 3% rise in noninterest expenses this year.

By Anna Hrushka • July 20, 2022

Jefferies restructures to refocus on investment-banking core

The company will sell its timber business, create an oil-and-gas spinoff and consolidate its CFO function by merging the investment bank into its parent company.

By Dan Ennis • July 19, 2022

House-passed NDAA includes banking provisions for cannabis

SAFE Banking’s inclusion in the defense bill marks the seventh time the legislation has passed in the House. Another measure in the bill would allow individuals with a conviction history to work in the financial sector.

By Anna Hrushka • July 18, 2022

JPMorgan's Dimon blasts 'capricious, arbitrary' Fed stress tests

“It’s inconsistent. It’s not transparent. It’s too volatile,” the CEO said of the stress test. JPMorgan said last month it would keep its dividend payouts flat in response to the central bank’s capital requirements.

By Anna Hrushka • July 15, 2022

BMO, community groups square off at merger hearing

Advocates assailed the bank's home-lending record toward nonwhite borrowers and expressed skepticism over its promise not to close any Bank of the West branches.

By Dan Ennis • July 15, 2022

Lawmakers air CRA concerns over race, data collection

The rule’s focus on income level rather than race does not do enough to address disparities along racial lines, some Democrats say.

By Anna Hrushka • July 14, 2022

UBS's top Americas executive stepping down Oct. 3

The Swiss lender hired Naureen Hassan, the New York Fed’s first vice president and chief operating officer, to replace Tom Naratil. Meanwhile, the bank named Iqbal Khan sole president of global wealth management.

By Dan Ennis • July 13, 2022

Morgan Stanley continues leadership shuffle

The bank tapped Eli Gross and Simon Smith as global co-heads of investment banking. They’ll replace Susie Huang and Mark Eichorn, who will become executive chairs and lead a dealmaking-focused cadre of senior bankers.

By Dan Ennis • July 12, 2022

Wells Fargo launches new round of home-lending layoffs

The bank notified 107 employees in Iowa, where its home mortgage division is based, that they would lose their jobs by late August, according to WARN notices filed last week.

By Dan Ennis • July 7, 2022

One of Citi's Russia suitors is also in talks for HSBC's presence there

Expobank, once Barclays’ Russia subsidiary, is in advanced discussions to buy HSBC’s Russia unit, which counts $1.4 billion in assets, according to Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

By Dan Ennis • July 6, 2022

TD in talks to buy US brokerage Cowen

“With respect to major mergers and acquisitions in the United States, we’re very open,” TD CEO Bharat Masrani told Bloomberg last year. The bank in February announced it would buy First Horizon Bank for $13.4 billion.

By Robin Bradley • July 6, 2022

Truist bumps minimum hourly wage to $22

The pay boost, effective Oct. 1, matches the bottom pay rate at Bank of America, another Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender.

By Anna Hrushka • July 6, 2022

BMO Harris to cut overdraft fees to $15 from $36

The bank in November reduced the number of overdraft and NSF charges a customer can run up per day. It also increased — to $50 in the red — the threshold at which customers incur an overdraft fee.

By Robin Bradley • July 5, 2022

3 potential buyers emerge for Citi's Russia operations

An insurance firm and banks that once served as Russian subsidiaries of Barclays and Société Générale are in the running to snag a footprint the U.S. bank has been looking to shed for 15 months, according to the Financial Times.

By Dan Ennis • July 1, 2022

Waters urges regulators to 'escalate penalties' against Wells Fargo

The chair of the House Financial Services Committee called on the CFPB, OCC, FDIC, Fed and HUD to address mounting reports of consumer abuses and discriminatory behavior at the San Francisco-based bank.

By Robin Bradley • June 30, 2022