News Topic: BankThink

Weak loan demand, persistently low yields and the continued struggles of sectors such as hospitality and retail are among the myriad lending challenges facing small regional banks. ... Read full article

The new policy will allow the company to close some work sites and reduce the size of others. It’s part of a broader effort to cut expenses to help offset revenue declines brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. ... Read full article

The veteran executive will receive a $13 million lump-sum payment if she stays with the North Carolina company for two years after the deal closes. ... Read full article

The hiring of Rania Llewellyn comes a little more than a month after Jane Fraser was named Citigroup's chief executive, which will make her the first female head of a big Wall Street bank. ... Read full article

The combined institution will serve almost 75,000 members with nearly $660 million in assets. ... Read full article

House Democrats had already approved a measure blocking the regulation reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, but the resolution faced more resistance in the upper chamber. ... Read full article

But the FDIC warns that the effects of the pandemic may reverse last year’s gains; Fed chair says it’s more important to get it right than be the first central bank to issue a cybercurrency. ... Read full article

Only a few credit unions were open to the public as polling sites in the 2016 election and those numbers are set to be reduced even further this year. ... Read full article

The company will close eight locations, noting that customers have been quick to adopt digital channels during the coronavirus pandemic. ... Read full article

Both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the American Bankers Association are encouraging the industry to offer basic products that could bring more unbanked households into the financial mainstream. ... Read full article

Southern Bancorp in Arkansas, which raised $35 million in capital from private investors, is out to prove that that community development financial institutions can deliver attractive returns and fulfill their missions to help the underserved. ... Read full article

Andrea White, a former VP at Freedom National Bank, was named CEO of the Massachusetts-based credit union, the first time a woman has held that position. ... Read full article

Online fraud typically spikes when holiday shopping begins in November, but so-called friendly fraud poses another big threat this year with the pandemic pushing more consumers — and inexperienced merchants — to online sales channels. ... Read full article

MagicCube’s i-Accept is a hardware-free option for accepting card and electronic payments that could appeal to cost-conscious small businesses and open up a new market for banks that provide them payments services. ... Read full article

Citigroup is now the third, and largest, U.S. financial institution to offer the Mastercard True Name feature, which lets customers use their preferred name, rather than their legal name, on credit and debit cards. The cards are targeted specifically for ... Read full article

Industry groups have launched new programs that are expected to carry over into 2021, while others are raising new calls for Congress to tackle data security. ... Read full article

Other central banks have considered phasing out cash as they explore digital currencies. Should the idea take hold in the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it would not replace the physical dollar. ... Read full article

Gary Cohn, former head of the Trump administration’s National Economic Council and onetime top executive at Goldman Sachs, says technological changes will continue to make it harder for smaller financial institutions to compete and force many to be sold. ... Read full article