Banking

When the once-ubiquitous interest rate goes away at the end of June, some businesses that have older loans may see a sudden jump in their payments. Banks, lawyers and business leaders are doing last-minute work to avoid that scenario.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the Evansville, Indiana, installment lender had engaged in "unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices," and failed to reimburse interest to consumers who had cancelled certain add-on products.

The San Francisco-based bank is proactively managing its loan portfolio and working with borrowers to restructure terms with the goal of helping clients and minimizing risk, he said. 

The beleaguered bank said it is selling 74 loans totaling about $2.6 billion to a subsidiary of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings. The move is part of a plan to pursue strategic asset sales, trim expenses and shore up its balance sheet.

Some stakeholders have worried about the estimated date for the transition to a new way of calculating credit worthiness, but an official assured attendees at an industry conference that the agency won't act prematurely.

Excluding farms and residential properties, banks accounted for more than 60% of the $3.6 trillion in commercial real estate loans outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2022, with smaller institutions particularly exposed, according to the Federal Reserve's semi-annual Financial Stability Report published last week.

As part of its receivership of Signature Bank, the agency was given the stock to sell by June 8.

Lenders who have started using these have saved up to 71% compared to all hard inquiries, Blend's co-founder says.

More than 140 current and former lawmakers are defending the constitutionality of the agency's funding arrangements. The nation's highest court is expected to rule on the issue in its upcoming term.

Balances reached nearly $1 trillion at the end of the first quarter, up 17% from a year earlier. The increase reflects higher spending by well-off consumers on travel and entertainment, as well as the pressure that lower-income households are facing from inflation and higher interest rates.