BankThink

Wells Fargo gets some good news; JPMorgan teams with Black-owned asset manager

02/18/21

A report says the Fed has approved the bank’s risk management proposal, although it’s not home free yet; JPMorgan Chase is investing $200 million to help minority firms become Fortune 500 giants.

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Bank trade groups urged to rethink political giving after Capitol riot

02/17/21

Election-reform advocates say the American Bankers Association and other organizations should take into account candidates’ commitment to democracy, not just their stances on issues, in directing donations.

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SECU chief Mike Lord to retire in August

02/17/21

The longtime leader joined State Employees' Credit Union, the second-largest CU in the nation, in 1975 and was named CEO in 2016.

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Blackouts, deep freeze force Texas banks to shutter branches

02/17/21

Comerica, Regions and Frost Bank closed hundreds of branches statewide while others ran them at reduced capacity or on power generators to help ease the strain on the state’s overwhelmed power grid.

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Fintech inspired by Black Lives Matter targets underbanked

02/17/21

Paybby, whose founder wanted to address disparities in the financial system after the George Floyd protests, is working with banks and others to develop products especially for underserved communities. They include a debit card that substitutes for food stamps and an app that temporarily sweeps cash into cryptocurrency.

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Assets up 14% at United FCU as earnings slip

02/17/21

Net income and loan volumes at the Michigan-based credit union were both down in 2020 but noninterest income shot up 41% thanks in part to participation in the Paycheck Protection Program.

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Behind Western Alliance's $1 billion bet on a mortgage lender

02/17/21

Acquiring AmeriHome would provide the fee revenue the Phoenix company seeks to compensate for low interest rates and tepid commercial loan demand. The deal also would allow it to reinvest billions of dollars of excess liquidity.

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Cash-out refis help drive pandemic-era mortgage boom

02/17/21

Origination volume hit a record high in 2020 as more borrowers tapped the equity in their homes and investors and second-home purchasers flocked to the market at levels unseen since before the Great Recession.

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Wells Fargo wins Fed’s approval for governance overhaul, sources say

02/17/21

The nod from the Federal Reserve is seen as a significant step toward eventually freeing the bank from a 2018 order that imposed a cap on its assets.

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Former CEO of Simplicity Credit Union dead at 60

02/17/21

Patricia Wesenberg spent more than two decades at the Wisconsin-based institution but retired in October to deal with health issues.

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