BankThink

Blue Ridge Bankshares, Bay Banks of Virginia to merge

08/13/20

The proposed combination would create a bank with $3 billion in assets in central Virginia.

[more]

Goldman, Barclays sizing up GM card; Fed official warns on pandemic

08/13/20

The card account, which has about $3 billion in outstandings, has about a year to run with Capital One; Boston Fed chief says recent virus outbreaks threaten economic rebound.

[more]

What Mastercard's crypto plans signal for the future of digital payments

08/13/20

Major payment companies have long looked on at cryptocurrencies as too risky to touch, but too tempting to ignore. Mastercard's latest move indicates that the card brands are ready to make a firm pitch for crypto spending.

[more]

Here's the credit quality metric to keep an eye on

08/12/20

Criticized assets are on the rise, especially in commercial portfolios, and may be the forerunner of a wave of loan losses later this year or next year unless economic conditions strengthen.

[more]

Libor is out, but SOFR isn't quite in

08/12/20

As the discredited Libor interest rate benchmark enters its last months, some banks are turning away from the repo-based alternative that regulators prefer. What could go wrong?

[more]

Big banks hire 19,000 with pandemic boosting demand for services

08/12/20

Eight of the top 15 firms increased headcount this year through June, while only four reduced it.

[more]

Outside of PPP, it's crickets in small-business lending

08/12/20

The Paycheck Protection Program has masked what has been a year of tepid demand and tightened lending standards. And bankers aren't expecting a rebound anytime soon.

[more]

Truist’s pandemic chatbot could have staying power

08/12/20

Built to respond to borrowers' questions about mortgage deferrals, the bot created by Salesforce is evolving and in the future could schedule appointments, answer questions about new digital products or help with emergencies.

[more]

PPP had its strengths. Its successor can be stronger.

08/12/20

A public-private partnership that has fewer rules and restrictions than the Paycheck Protection Program would save more small businesses.

[more]

Demand for Fed's Main Street loan program is growing, Rosengren says

08/12/20

The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said the central bank had acquired stakes in 32 business loans as of Monday, four times the amount from two weeks earlier.

[more]