Weak loan growth, a $3.25 billion litigation accrual and other costs tied to the phony-accounts saga all added up to a messy fourth quarter for the San Francisco bank.
The Kennesaw, Ga.-based company, which targets borrowers with blemished credit records, has acquired LoanHero, which specializes in loans at the cash register.
In some ways the Canadian bank's U.S. consumer business is only now shaking off many of its crisis-era problems here. CEO Darryl White is pinning his retail-comeback hopes on a rejuvenated sales culture and a focus on more profitable customers.
The people-helping-people model proffered by LendingClub and others quickly foundered, but several startups aim to bring it back with the help of distributed ledger technology.
Changing political and economic forces are raising new questions about deployment of tax savings and the cost of deposits, while old concerns about cost-cutting, credit quality and risk taking persist or return.
