Banking

The credit-reporting agency was fined $650,000 for sending customers marketing emails without an option to unsubscribe. Financial institutions are subject to the same law, called the CAN-SPAM Act.

Industry executives coming off a tough year are wondering what the transition will cost and how many borrowers it'll bring in.

This first step in updating borrower assessments was seen as the easiest and could reduce costs, but stakeholders fear change that reduces data inputs.

The company is rolling out a special-purpose credit program to help address what it describes as "the biggest barriers to achieving homeownership." Such programs are gaining popularity among banks.

Moody's said higher funding costs, a potential decline in bank capital and growing risk in the commercial real-estate industry prompted many of the downgrades.

Firms that had ratings cut included M&T Bank, Webster Financial, BOK Financial, Old National Bancorp, Pinnacle Financial Partners and Fulton Financial.

Lenders including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have been trying to sell debt backed by offices, hotels and even apartments in recent months, but many are finding that tidying up loan books is no easy feat when concerns about commercial real estate have surged.

The Federal Reserve is leading the push for broader, more standardized risk-capital rules, yet some of its board members, other regulators and industry groups are uncomfortable with the proposal.

The decision from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to allow lenders to review only two credit reports for mortgage applicants will harm homebuyers with less than perfect credit, writes the founder and CEO of Financial Services Innovation Coalition and a certified general appraiser at the Dawson Valuation Group.

The racially targeted mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in 2022 has renewed conversations about whether banks have a duty to help segregated, impoverished communities that were shaped in part by discriminatory lending practices. What do banks owe the Black community, and what influence could they have?

The Federal Reserve said that banks reported tighter standards and continued weak demand for loans in the second quarter, extending a trend that began before recent stresses in the banking sector emerged.

But mortgage numbers remain historically very low and fall short of pre-pandemic levels, according to VantageScore's latest monthly report.

Gateway First Bank, a former nonbank home lender, rode the pandemic era's mortgage wave to No. 1 on American Banker's latest list of top-performing banks based on full-year 2022 data. Now it has to cope with the housing market slowdown.

Its One Ally strategy is meant to help the bank with personalization and cross-selling.

Consumer advocates are protesting specific risk-weighting changes affecting borrowers with lower down payments. Also, a broader increase in requirements may discourage depository holdings of servicing.

The association thinks this could simplify and manage the costs of two new pending credit requirements by allowing companies to add the one that's been through a price hike second.

The Hicksville, New York, company says its deposit base is stable and poised for growth four months after its acquisition of the failed Signature Bank, some of whose depositors fled to larger banks. Private bankers — including new hires from another failed bank, First Republic — are trying to win back lost deposits.

Post-merger Banc of California will target "in-market relationship banking" by focusing on treasury management services and loan growth to boost "low-cost" commercial deposits, CEO Jared Wolff said.

The companies have requested an extension of the floating-rate loan, which matured in July, according to a servicer report.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union will open five branches in the Windy City to serve the more than 10,000 members and potential members living there. This marks the first time that the institution has expanded beyond its home state.