Cryptocurrencies

Record bank profits could make it tougher to get more regulatory relief; banks monitoring older clients’ mental health.

Ripple Labs Inc., the blockchain startup whose digital money is often used as a proxy for other cryptocurrency payments, is gaining new customers because financial firms are seeking faster, more up-to-date technology than the Swift banking network, Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse said.

The former Goldman CEO is said to be the unnamed executive at a meeting with Asian financier; the bank faces multibillion-dollar penalties in two countries.

Barclays’ common equity tier 1 ratio is the lowest among those banks tested; the $30 million investment is the bank’s first foreign effort in its “Advancing Cities” program.

The idea of digitizing cashiers' checks is likely to meet resistance, but the Swiss startup says at least two U.S. banks are already showing interest.