LMI lender Oportun withdraws OCC banking charter application

The company plans "to amend elements" of the application "to reflect changes to our business." But advocacy groups wrote the OCC in August with concern over Oportun's debt-collection practices, which the CFPB is investigating.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 11, 2021

Fair-housing group sues Old National over alleged redlining ahead of merger

Only 37 of the more than 2,250 mortgage loans the bank made in the Indianapolis area in 2019 and 2020 were to Black borrowers, said the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, which wants to get the Fed involved.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 8, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

M&A

President Donald Trump’s reelection was predicted to yield loosened regulation. But tariff volatility and economic uncertainty has thrown a wrench into an expected boom in mergers and acquisitions.

By Banking Dive staff

SBA overpaid $4.5B in EIDL grants, IG report finds

The agency's inspector general said it found instances where sole proprietors or independent contractors improperly claimed to have as many as 1 million employees.

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 8, 2021

Capital One gives up predicting office-return timeline

The bank said it will give employees 30 days' notice before deciding to reopen sometime next year. The indefinite delay marks the bank's second timeline rollback since August.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 8, 2021

NatWest faces $463M fine, pleads guilty in AML case

The bank's cooperation could persuade a judge to reduce the penalty at sentencing in December. The case marks the Financial Conduct Authority's first criminal prosecution of a bank under 2007 anti-money laundering rules.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 7, 2021

Bank of America offers $200 award to vaccinated, in-office Merrill Lynch staff

Eligible staff must come to the office at least eight times between early October and mid-November and be fully vaccinated by mid-November, publications reported.

By Robin Bradley • Oct. 7, 2021

Republic Bank sues Green Dot for calling off $165M deal

The prepaid card company said it was unable to get the Fed's approval or non-objection to the acquisition of Republic's tax refund processing unit. But it's not the only transaction held up by an unresponsive Fed.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 6, 2021

Fed inspector general's office to probe officials' trading

The move came hours after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, wrote a letter asking the SEC to look into whether activity by the central bank's vice chair, Richard Clarida, and others violated insider-trading rules.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 5, 2021

JPMorgan stiffens vaccination policy

Unvaccinated staff must be tested for COVID-19 twice a week, and will receive heftier payroll deductions to cover the cost of testing beginning next year, according to an internal memo Monday.

By Robin Bradley • Oct. 5, 2021

US Postal Service not equipped to handle banking, industry trade groups say

"The USPS already has its hands full with its current mission and lacks the bandwidth needed to run such a large and complex operation," NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger said.

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 5, 2021

Postal banking pilot brings check cashing, bill pay in 4 areas

The program, launched in September, aims to bring financial services to low- to moderate-income people and is set to expand after the holiday season.

By Robin Bradley • Oct. 4, 2021

UK challenger Monzo withdraws OCC application

The company still aims to "build and scale [its] early-stage product offer in the U.S. through existing partners," it said. A debate reportedly rumbled for months within Monzo as to whether the licensing effort was the best use of resources.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 4, 2021

First Citizens, CIT extend timeline for $2.2B merger over Fed delay

The FDIC and a North Carolina regulator have approved the deal, the banks said, adding that they're waiting on the central bank. If the deal is not completed by March 1, either bank may back out, American Banker reported.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 1, 2021

Regions unveils overdraft alternative

The Birmingham, Alabama-based bank's new checking account charges $5 monthly to provide overdraft protection without transfer fees.

By Robin Bradley • Oct. 1, 2021

Senate confirms Chopra to lead CFPB

Analysts expect a tenure marked by stiffer penalties. But the bureau has been laying the groundwork for its shift in tone for months.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 1, 2021

Warren cites 'grave concern' in opposing Powell on new Fed term

The Democrat characterized Powell as "dangerous," taking the chair to task on Capitol Hill on Tuesday over three deregulatory actions.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 29, 2021

Deutsche's office siren runs counter to its December plan

The two lines of thinking can co-exist. Deutsche could eye a return for its 5,000 New York-area employees in the next six months only to see them scatter later, when the sheen of the bank's new U.S. headquarters has worn off.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 29, 2021

Wells Fargo fined $37.3M to settle DOJ foreign-exchange case

The penalty comes in addition to $35.3 million in restitution the bank has paid 771 harmed commercial customers.

By Robin Bradley • Sept. 28, 2021

New York Fed researchers design climate stress test for banks

The paper defines what it calls CRISK — the expected capital shortfall of a financial institution in a climate stress scenario — a measure that rose significantly in 2020.

By Robin Bradley • Sept. 27, 2021

Boston, Dallas Fed chiefs resign amid stock-trading blowback

Boston's Eric Rosengren cited a worsening kidney condition in his departure. Dallas' Robert Kaplan, however, addressed the controversy head-on. "The recent focus on my financial disclosure risks becoming a distraction," he said.

By Dan Ennis • Updated Sept. 28, 2021

Bank of Marin CEO calls it a career after 2 extra years

The bank on Friday named 14-year veteran Tim Myers as its next CEO. It hired a firm in 2019 to find Russ Colombo's successor. Then COVID-19 hit, and Colombo said he'd stay "as long as the bank needs."

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 27, 2021

Cannabis banking measure couched in House-passed defense bill

The NDAA goes to the Senate, a perennial foil for the SAFE Banking Act. While some Republicans would rather the pot bill get a stand-alone vote, a number of Democrats are eyeing larger reform.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 22, 2021

U.S. Bank to buy MUFG Union Bank in $8B deal

The transaction would add $133 billion in assets, $58 billion in loans and $90 billion in deposits to U.S. Bank's balance sheet, vaulting the Minneapolis-based lender back into fifth place among largest retail banks in the U.S.

By Robin Bradley • Sept. 21, 2021

Varo's latest $510M funding round validates bank charter decision, exec says

The bank, now reportedly valued at $2.5 billion, plans to use the new funding on account growth, brand building, its product roadmap and operational and risk management infrastructure.

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 17, 2021

Truist, Microsoft back FDIC fund to invest in minority-owned banks

"I like to joke that this isn't your grandmother's FDIC, and this fund certainly proves that we like to think out of the box," the agency's chair, Jelena McWilliams, said Thursday.

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 16, 2021