Bank of America to offer paid sabbaticals starting next year

Employees who have served 15 years at the bank can take four weeks, with an extra week for 20-year vets, and a sixth for those with 30.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 15, 2022

Texas bank settles with DOJ over PPP lending allegations

In the first False Claims Act settlement by a Paycheck Protection Program lender, Houston-based Prosperity Bank will pay more than $18,000 to resolve allegations it knowingly processed a PPP loan for an ineligible business.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 15, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial intelligence

Banks are enthusiastic about AI’s promises. But can they get customers on board, and will regulators let the innovation happen?

By Banking Dive staff

How big of a deal is Q2’s deposit decline?

Deposits had seen an unsustainable 35% jump since 2020, and banks were pushing their capital limits. The real tell of consumer health from FDIC data may be a 25% spike in early delinquencies.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 15, 2022

Wells Fargo agrees to third-party racial-equity audit

CEO Charlie Scharf called the move “a critical next step” toward closing the wealth gap, and added that diversity, equity and inclusion are “imperative” at the bank.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 14, 2022

JPMorgan Chase raises specter of job cuts

The bank’s president, Daniel Pinto, said he sees a 50% Q3 drop in investment-banking fees — and mentioned reduced compensation as an alternative to layoffs.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 14, 2022

BofA pledges $25M to support Black and Latino-led CDFIs

“This collaboration demonstrates that opportunities and impact are literally doubled when we work together,” said Marla Bilonick, chair of the National Alliance of Latino CDFI Executives.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 9, 2022

Citi wins appeal on $500M Revlon loan blunder

“Put simply, you don’t get to keep money sent to you by mistake unless you’re entitled to it anyway,” one judge wrote in his opinion.

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 9, 2022

10 takeaways from Michael Barr’s first speech as Fed’s supervision czar

The regulator pushed a tiered set of capital requirements and stricter living wills for regional banks. He also clarified the central bank’s stance on climate risk.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 8, 2022

UBS, Wealthfront abandon $1.4B merger agreement

UBS did not give a reason for the deal’s disintegration, but the Swiss bank gave Wealthfront $69.7 million in financing, and the companies are “continuing to explore ways to work together in a partnership.”

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 6, 2022

Citi joins Wells Fargo in cutting mortgage-lending staff

Citi's layoffs will number fewer than 100, while Wells, in the past two weeks, notified 75 Iowa-based workers they would be let go.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 6, 2022

Need to fill a C-suite void? Target banks that are being acquired

First Republic and other banks looking to fill high-ranking roles hired executives from MUFG Union Bank, People's United and other institutions at the non-surviving end of a merger.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 1, 2022

Average overdraft fee falls nearly $4, to lowest level since 2009

ATM fees, however, jumped to a three-year high of $4.66 per transaction, according to a Bankrate study, which also found users needed record or near-record-high balances to avoid monthly service charges.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 1, 2022

BofA, BMO push to close racial property ownership gap

Bank of America launched a program offering a zero-down payment, zero-closing-cost mortgage solution to first-time homebuyers in nonwhite-majority areas, and another aimed at small businesses.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Aug. 31, 2022

Ford ILC application gets pushback from ICBA, consumer groups

In a joint letter to the FDIC, four groups called the car maker’s bid to use the charter to promote the electrification of its vehicle fleet disingenuous, while the ICBA said the ILC charter exploits a regulatory loophole.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 30, 2022

Citi to wind down its Russia retail presence

The bank expects to incur roughly $170 million in costs, mostly over the next 18 months, in a move expected to affect about 2,300 employees and 15 branches.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 25, 2022

Truist acquires data governance platform from Zaloni

The platform’s founder and chief technology officer will be among 20 employees to transition to Truist as part of the deal, which highlights the bank’s continuing emphasis on nonbank and niche M&A.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 24, 2022

Credit Suisse emerges as missing piece in neobank’s crumbled merger

American Challenger sued the Swiss lender in July, accusing it of failing to conclude the sale of a $650 million commercial loan portfolio — a critical component in a tie-up with Patriot National Bank.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 22, 2022

First Internet Bank launches small-business account

The account allows business owners to earn interest, make unlimited transactions, and link their business and personal checking or savings accounts, credit cards, loans and investments.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 18, 2022

SEC, Fed fine EagleBank $22.9M, ban ex-CEO over insider lending

EagleBank had deficient internal controls between 2015 and 2018, allowing the bank to lend to entities its then-CEO owned or controlled, including certain family trusts, the Fed said.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 17, 2022

Citi sues Revlon to recoup errant payoff

The cosmetics firm should reimburse the bank for the unreturned $500 million it paid out of its own pocket by mistake to Revlon's creditors, Citi told a judge.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 16, 2022

MVB bulks up on SBA, USDA lending with $98M acquisition

The West Virginia bank is buying Raleigh, North Carolina-based Integrated Financial Holdings in a tie-up that aims to create an “industry-leading juggernaut in government guaranteed lending,” according to a statement.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 15, 2022

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