Retail

NBA star Russell Westbrook joins Varo Bank as investor, adviser

The new partnership follows the launch of a multimillion-dollar TV and radio ad campaign, as the bank looks to establish itself as a lifestyle brand, a Varo executive said.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 19, 2021

Wells Fargo asset cap closer to ending as Fed reportedly OKs overhaul plan

The nation's fourth-largest bank has operated for three years under a $1.95 trillion asset cap set by the Federal Reserve in response to a 2016 fake-accounts scandal that has cost the bank billions of dollars in fines.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 18, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Trendline

The Banking Dive Outlook on 2021

There are three ways to keep the narratives surrounding cryptocurrency, fair lending and the fight for racial equality in finance from losing steam.

By Banking Dive staff

Yes? No? Investment platform Kalshi will let users bet on event outcomes

Co-founder Tarek Mansour imagined the concept while interning at Goldman Sachs ahead of the Brexit vote. The company completed a $30 million funding round, aims to launch in March and has earned CFTC approval.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 18, 2021

Goldman launches robo-advisory service for clients with as little as $1,000

Marcus Invest won't let its users buy and sell individual stocks. Rather, customers can put money into one of several portfolios, and the platform will monitor and automatically rebalance users' wealth daily.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 17, 2021

Greenwood taps fintech veteran to head compliance, risk

Lynn Tillman-Cherry said she expects the digital bank to adopt a regtech solution for its compliance program, with a focus on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 16, 2021

OppLoans rebrands, will go public through merger with SPAC

The Chicago-based loan servicer looks to reach upmarket with a credit-card rollout this year and a payroll deduction secured installment loan, currently in beta.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • Feb. 12, 2021

Digital bank Ando promises transparent green investments

Ando invests customers' dollars in sustainable infrastructure and regenerative agriculture, and says every $175 held in its account reduces carbon output equivalent to the work of one mature tree.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 10, 2021

Column

A cognitive dissonance in bonus pay

Bank of America walked back "cliff vesting" for its investment bankers but left it in place for others. Even if the bank keeps its bonus pool level, it's still far more lucrative than some in the U.K.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 08, 2021

N26 doubles down on US in overseas growth plan

The German neobank looks to grow its U.S. employee base by 75% and is considering offering its stateside users subscription bundles, as it does in Europe.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • Feb. 04, 2021

Opinion

The way we look at brokered deposits for banks is broken

A bank that predominantly holds traditional core deposits is susceptible to a "bank run," whereas one funded primarily by brokered CD deposits is not. That's because these deposits have precise maturity dates.

By Charlie Knadler • Feb. 04, 2021

Navy Federal Credit Union continues branch expansion as banks scale back

"While the self-service capabilities ... work well to meet a lot of [military members'] fundamental needs, there's still ... a need for them to be able to walk into a branch and get some financial guidance," a credit union executive said.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 03, 2021

Gemini launches crypto-based savings product offering up to 7.4% yield

Gemini said it can pay such high rates because it lends to institutional borrowers through a partner, but that puts it largely outside the regulatory sphere — leaving customers assuming considerably more risk.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 03, 2021

Neobank Dave taps former Apple Card exec to expand product suite

Chief Commercial Officer Jarad Fisher will be responsible for Dave's core business operations and performance, including Dave Banking, which rolled out to a waitlist of 2 million people last summer.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 02, 2021

Startup Paybby buys neobank Wicket to fast-track Black banking

Founder Hassan Miah said he plans to add overdraft protection, free retailer cash deposits, payments, transfers, check cashing, payday loan advances and consumer lending to the platform.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 01, 2021

Wells Fargo CEO Scharf sees 12% cut in compensation to $20.3M

Beyond financial performance, Wells' board weighed the bank's liquidity throughout the pandemic, its progress on enforcement actions and Scharf's introduction of new diversity goals.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 01, 2021

Plaid launches tool to help banks, fintechs compete for direct deposits

The product, still in beta, is meant to combat the friction associated with manually changing the destination of a direct deposit, which can prevent customers from designating a new banking relationship as their primary one.

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 29, 2021

Column

The game that matured Robinhood

In temporarily halting trades in GameStop stock and leaning into its investors for a $3.4 billion infusion, the company finds itself in the grown-up position of saying no to an upstart movement.

By Dan Ennis • UPDATED: Feb. 1, 2021 at 4:51 a.m.

JPMorgan acknowledges UK digital bank rollout plan

The bank has been testing its mobile checking account offering among a small group of people and plans to pilot it with some U.K.-based employees and their families and friends in the next few weeks, Bloomberg reported.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 28, 2021

Black- and Latinx-focused digital bank Greenwood hits 500K signups in 100 days

"We see that there is definitely an appetite for what we're doing," said Ryan Glover, who founded the startup with civil rights leader Andrew Young and rapper Killer Mike. Glover said the platform could launch in May or June.

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 26, 2021

Raisin patents 'savings-as-a-service' technology as it moves on US market

The 9-year-old fintech this month was awarded a patent for technology enabling banks to offer a "liquidity time deposit" CD product that allows the depositor to select and plan a distribution schedule.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • Jan. 25, 2021

Deep Dive

What's in store for challenger banks in 2021?

As the challenger bank market continues to attract venture capital, new users and even celebrity endorsements, how will the momentum and hype surrounding this new way to bank continue into 2021?

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 25, 2021

KeyBank aims to launch digital bank for doctors in March

"Think about a digital company that refinances student loans for doctors and dentists that are accredited, employed, have an average salary of about $200,000 per year," CEO Chris Gorman said. "These are great clients to get."

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 22, 2021

Alternative credit data, fair lending may take focus under Biden

Among his first actions as president, Joe Biden signed an executive order to extend the pause on student loan payments through Sept. 30.

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 21, 2021

Truist reports Q4 profit, continues merger-related job cuts, branch closures

The bank eliminated 1,307 positions during the fourth quarter. It said it closed 149 branches in 2020 and plans to shutter more than 400 this year.

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 21, 2021

Deep Dive

4 banking trends to watch in 2021

Banking Dive expects M&A to pivot toward niches, race to be a continuing focus of ESG, and crypto to have a make-or-break year in 2021.

By Dan Ennis , Anna Hrushka • Jan. 20, 2021