Consumer lending

U.S. lawmakers are pushing regulators to provide room for banks to work out loans with businesses and consumers who may be affected by the coronavirus.

With interest rates and unemployment at rock-bottom lows and home values rising, the part of JPMorgan's retail business that sells home loans to consumers made money last month, marking the first profitable January in five years, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move comes as the fintech tries to shake off criticism that its main products are payday loans by another name.

The online lender's deal for Boston-based Radius would be the first in history in which a fintech buys a mainstream bank.

Depending on one's perspective, the surge in consumer borrowing is either a normal byproduct of a booming economy or a worrisome trend that portends a wave of delinquencies when the next downturn hits.