Mnuchin seeks extra $250B for SBA loans as AML rules, access issues slow aid

The application process has been fraught with delays, including a four-hour outage to the agency's loan processing system Monday and the need to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

By Dan Ennis • April 8, 2020

Fifth Third hiring 950 employees amid higher loan, mortgage demand

The Cincinnati-based bank joins Bank of America in boosting its headcount during the coronavirus outbreak.

By Dan Ennis • April 7, 2020

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Everything old is new again. One year after Citi’s reorganization, progress comes in “fits and starts.” Meanwhile, a contentious proposed rule is generating “voluminous” feedback after 14 months.

By Banking Dive staff

Fed alters Wells Fargo's asset cap to continue support of SBA loans

Lifting the cap, instituted after a 2016 fake-accounts scandal, would help the bank lend to more small businesses affected in the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Charlie Scharf has argued.

By Anna Hrushka • Updated April 8, 2020

Wells Fargo cites asset cap in closing SBA loan portal

The bank said it would lend up to $10 billion as part of the U.S. government's coronavirus relief program but estimated it had hit that ceiling two days after the effort launched.

By Anna Hrushka • April 6, 2020

Crush of demand, hurried timeline plague SBA program launch

The $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program rolled out hours after the agency issued more guidance. The setup leaves banks reallocating resources and questioning risk.

By Dan Ennis • April 3, 2020

Kabbage cuts credit to small businesses, shifts focus to SBA loans

The online lender is dealing with the loss of loan origination revenue, as well as losses on the performance of existing loans as the coronavirus pandemic brings the economy to a near standstill.

By Anna Hrushka • Updated April 2, 2020

Barclays aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050

The commitment represents a step back from what investors sought when they pressured the bank to phase out fossil fuel lending in a resolution filed in January.

By Dan Ennis • April 1, 2020

North Carolina de novo organizers buy bank in Tennessee

Community Bank of the Carolinas failed to raise enough money to open, but its investors found a path forward in Brighton Bank.

By Dan Ennis • March 31, 2020

Banks, fintechs prepare for flood of SBA loan applications

As small businesses across the country shutter amid the pandemic, many fintech lenders are concerned traditional lenders won't be able to process loans quickly enough to get business owners the cash they need.

By Anna Hrushka • March 31, 2020

Standard Chartered pledges $1B toward pandemic relief, freezes hiring

The bank's backing will come in the form of loans to drug companies, health care providers and non-medical firms that have volunteered to make ventilators, face masks, sanitizers and protective equipment.

By Dan Ennis • March 31, 2020

BNY Mellon names interim CEO to top role permanently

Todd Gibbons' long tenure at the bank — he's worked there since 1986 — should act as a stabilizing force. He has served as interim chief since Charlie Scharf left to become CEO of Wells Fargo.

By Dan Ennis • March 30, 2020

BofA CEO: Capital levels allow us to focus on operations amid crisis

"It’s much different than walking down 6th Avenue in 2007-08 and being worried about risk," said Brian Moynihan. "Now it’s much more about how do we operationalize and help the economy get back on its feet?"

By Anna Hrushka • March 30, 2020

Morgan Stanley pledges no job cuts in 2020 — and several banks follow

Citi, Wells Fargo and Bank of America all vowed to maintain staffing levels throughout the coronavirus crisis, while European lenders such as HSBC and Deutsche Bank, which were planning layoffs, put them on hold.

By Dan Ennis • March 27, 2020

Regulators urge banks to offer responsible small-dollar loans

Five agencies promise future guidance on the lending vehicle, which some trade groups advocated long before the coronavirus pandemic sent the economy into a spiral.

By Anna Hrushka • March 27, 2020

Fintech lenders find an opening in $2T coronavirus relief package

"The language does include opportunity for fintechs to support, but it's now up to the Treasury to finalize the definition," said Kabbage's Sam Taussig. "This is not the time to debate the definition of a bank."

By Anna Hrushka • March 26, 2020

Santander chair, CEO give half of their pay to bank's virus-related medical fund

The bank's canceled dividends free up $97 billion to lend to coronavirus-affected businesses. "We need maximum flexibility so that we can do even more for the communities in the months ahead," Chairman Ana Botín said.

By Dan Ennis • Updated April 3, 2020

How Grasshopper Bank supports clients during COVID-19 pandemic

For the digital bank, which caters to the entrepreneur and venture capital market, the virus has created an environment where its clients rely on tailored offerings to navigate the crisis.

By Anna Hrushka • March 24, 2020

JPMorgan freezes hiring as coronavirus impact felt industrywide

Managers have been told to pull non-immediate job postings, and the company has delayed bringing new recruits into the bank until April 20, Bloomberg reported. Units such as home lending are exempt from the freeze.

By Dan Ennis • March 24, 2020

Citi, Wells, U.S. Bank boost compensation for front-line employees

Both Capital One and U.S. Bank have opted for pay raises, with the former offering an additional $10 an hour to branch workers. U.S. Bank, meanwhile, is giving an extra 20% to branch, call center and field office staff.

By Dan Ennis • Updated March 27, 2020

Goldman Sachs gives CEO a nearly 20% pay raise

The $4.5 million jump makes David Solomon the second-highest-paid CEO among Wall Street's big banks.

By Dan Ennis • March 23, 2020

Regulators ease loan modification rules amid coronavirus pandemic

Examiners will exercise judgment in reviewing loan modifications, including troubled debt restructurings, according to a joint statement by five agencies and an organization of state regulators.

By Anna Hrushka • March 23, 2020

Wells Fargo asks Fed to lift asset cap

Adding deposits or loans may be one way the nation's fourth-largest bank could help businesses and customers hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

By Dan Ennis • March 23, 2020

Kabbage asks Congress to retool SBA's lending rules amid coronavirus crisis

The online lender wants private-sector partners to help the agency with its disaster loan program as it faces a potential flood of small businesses in need of cash.

By Anna Hrushka • March 20, 2020

Coronavirus may force HSBC to delay restructuring

CEO Noel Quinn said the bank would proceed "wherever possible" with a plan to cut 35,000 jobs, adding that it would "need to consider what additional actions" to take against a post-coronavirus backdrop.

By Dan Ennis • Updated April 27, 2020

FDIC approves ILC charters for Square, Nelnet

The recent approvals are bound to usher in more scrutiny from the banking establishment, which has called the industrial loan company model's lack of oversight a consumer safety issue.

By Anna Hrushka • March 19, 2020