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An “emergency merger” with the troubled Progressive Credit Union gives PenFed — already the nation’s third-largest credit union — the ability to welcome any potential member nationwide. ... Read full article

The SEC and FASB control the process now, but Congress should give banking regulators a more central role in overseeing the creation of accounting rules. ... Read full article

The accounts — which eschew paper checks and overdraft protection — appeal beyond the low-income customers they were intended for; lenders are embracing artificial intelligence systems to analyze more data to determine creditworthiness. ... Read full article

The technology does not yet exist, but in the not-too-distant future it could fundamentally transform how many organizations do business. ... Read full article

The bank will pay over $15 million in restitution and fines to settle claims that it neglected stop-payment requests and reopened deposit accounts without customers' consent. ... Read full article

Executives from Microsoft and other firms will expand PNC's board to 14 members. ... Read full article

Citi wants to attract credit card customers who use its card for staples such as groceries and gas — a pivot from its past of marketing to the social butterflies who would use its cards on dining and entertainment. ... Read full article

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency advanced the ball last year by collecting public feedback on modernizing the law, but all three federal bank regulators will have to reach consensus on a formal proposal. ... Read full article

In her New Year’s message, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger called on the agency to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and that “the marketplace is innovating.” ... Read full article

The agencies are weighing a plan to reduce the scope of residential real estate transactions requiring an appraisal, but appraisers have warned that the proposal could have consequences. ... Read full article

Facebook’s WhatsApp unit has been testing its payments app in India since May; investors price in an almost a 90% probability of no Fed hikes this year. ... Read full article

Banks need to stake out a presence on platforms that have nothing to do with banking. ... Read full article

Bank portfolios are chock full of loans to industries — think agriculture, tourism, real estate and energy — that could be particularly hard hit by warming temperatures. Some large banks are engaging in "scenario analysis" to mitigate the risk. ... Read full article

New CEO John Turner hasn't fully laid out his vision for the future, but it clearly will involve hiring specialized lenders, balancing labor-saving AI with old-fashioned relationship building, and more streamlining. ... Read full article

Several fintechs are testing apps that let customers gain more say over how third parties use their data — and hope to one day be able to give them the power to revoke access to it entirely. ... Read full article

With a divided Congress in place, policymakers will face challenges in passing major financial legislation this year. But there are still a number of core issues set to be debated. ... Read full article

One bank is tracking the habits of its 4.4 million customers, giving them discounts on services if they visit the gym or get a flu shot. Other companies may soon follow suit. ... Read full article

Spirit Community Bank is the 15th bank to get the agency's approval this year. That list also includes Community Bank of the Carolinas, which was approved in early December. ... Read full article