Nonbank

It is only a matter of time before bankers and policymakers realize that the concept keeping banks and non-financial entities apart no longer has any underlying support.

Operational changes may be enticing to investors, but they threaten the very foundation of marketplace lending, potentially shutting out those the burgeoning sector was meant to serve.

Banks and nonbanks are typically foes, but banks made 34 nonbank M&A deals through mid-May, emerging as buyers in two-thirds of them. Many buyers are eager to pad fee income by adding investment, specialty finance or insurance firms; sellers are typically looking to cut costs. Here is a roundup of such deals this year.

Readers weigh in on Wells Fargo investors reelecting state regulators suing the OCC, Wells Fargo's annual meeting, ultralow interest rates and more.

Congressional action to reform housing finance is ultimately needed, but we must confront the risk of continued drift and inaction if Congress is unable to act.