How can banks improve performance while dealing with low interest rates and high regulatory expenses? One effective strategy is to bulk up, as shown by our annual ranking of the top 200 banks with less than $2 billion of assets.
Income volatility is a persistent problem for millions of U.S. households. Banks and fintech companies are trying to help consumers cope — but the industry can do more.
Banks are undergoing a digital transformation at the same time that hacker culture has taken off, escalating the security risks. Here is one strategy for protecting data where many banks need to improve.
The number of deals in early 2017 was similar to the same period last year, though the pricing has increased. Also see which M&A advisers were the most active for each region during 2016 in our annual ranking.
From SoFi to Venmo, fintech competitors are creating a customer experience that is so fast and easy community bankers like Julieann Thurlow cannot help but worry.
Financial institutions of all sizes are overhauling benefits policies and promoting work-life balance to better compete for millennial recruits with the hipper tech sector. The big changes include longer periods of paid time off for new parents.
Creative growth strategies are helping banks with $10B to $50B of assets — including Webster and TCF — improve profitability. These ‘tweeners’ deal with tougher regulations than smaller competitors without the scale larger ones have to absorb the expense.
With loans of $100,000 or less, the typical bank breaks even or loses money. But one Florida community bank is betting faster turnaround times on small-business loans can help the bottom line.
If offering a national regulation option to fintech players is the carrot, compliance with commonsense borrower protections could be the stick in promoting responsible financial innovation.
