FinCEN business loan fraud reports jump 84% for 4th straight monthly record

Financial institutions filed 1,922 suspicious-activity reports in August, up from 1,044 in July and about 14 times the monthly average since the watchdog's database was established in 2014. July's total itself was more than double June's 489.

By Anna Hrushka • Updated Sept. 25, 2020

JPMorgan mandates Sept. 21 office return for sales, trading managers and teams

But an updated directive lets most consumer-unit workers — excluding branch employees and some in operations — stay remote until 2021.

By Dan Ennis • Updated Sept. 29, 2020

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As the banking sphere prepares for a second Trump presidency, institutions are weighing branch strategy and regulatory changes — and looking at how past crises have altered their perception of risk.

By Banking Dive staff

Financial regulators defend diversity, inclusion training on Capitol Hill

The House hearing follows a report detailing a lack of diversity among regulators, and comes amid recent calls from the White House that federal agencies should end racial sensitivity training.

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 9, 2020

Fewer banks servicing pot businesses, FinCEN report finds

The agency attributed the decline to several factors, including new guidance for hemp-related businesses, as well as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 8, 2020

Post-Labor Day remote-work benchmark arrives, and attitudes are shifting

Though the letterhead-official sentiment from bank brass may be sensitive, the tone surrounding a return to the office is displaying an eagerness — and sometimes an impatience — to get to business as usual.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 8, 2020

Fed error spurs Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley to lower stress capital buffers

The central bank said it overestimated hypothetical losses on certain public welfare investments, such as those made in funds or companies that back housing and community development in low- and moderate-income areas.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 8, 2020

Fintech Jiko gains national charter by buying Minnesota community bank

"Without a license, we would be just another fintech amongst many others," founder and former Goldman Sachs trader Stephane Lintner said. "We decided to buy a bank because it felt better for us, given what we wanted to do."

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 4, 2020

Wells Fargo to make 580 job offers to settle DOL discrimination claims

The bank also agreed to pay $7.8 million in back wages and interest to resolve charges from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

By Lisa Burden • Sept. 3, 2020

Robinhood may face $10M fine over payments from high-speed traders

The startup failed to disclose so-called "payment for order flow" as a revenue source until October 2018, the SEC said. About half of the company's 2018 revenue reportedly came from that stream.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 3, 2020

Huntington launches 5-year, $20B effort toward income equality

The Ohio-based bank joins Bank of America, U.S. Bank, PNC, PayPal and Netflix in pledging billions in the wake of racial unrest accelerated by the May death of George Floyd.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 2, 2020

$4B in PPP loans were duplicates or had mismatched data, analysis finds

The Democratic chair of a coronavirus panel urged the SBA and Treasury to review PPP and adjust its audit plan over concerns about fraud and waste. A Republican report called the program "a resounding success."

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 2, 2020

Rakuten to continue ILC charter pursuit, subsidiary CEO says

"We intend to follow the process until we've exhausted our process with the FDIC," Rakuten Bank America CEO Lee Carter said. The company has twice submitted and withdrawn applications with the regulator.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 26, 2020

ICBA calls for investigation into JPMorgan Chase-USPS talks

"Equitable access to basic banking services must be discussed and addressed by policymakers and the entire financial services industry," the head of the ICBA wrote to the Postal Regulatory Commission.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 25, 2020

Wells Fargo has missed out on $4B in profits since asset cap: Bloomberg

The bank is due by next month to submit a plan, detailing proposed business changes, that may prompt the Federal Reserve to lift the cap. The Fed rejected Wells's first such plan two years ago.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 25, 2020

TD Bank to pay $122M over 'deceptive' overdrafts in CFPB settlement

The bank marketed its Debit Card Advance feature as free, even though overdrafts cost $35, and failed to tell customers the program was opt-in, the bureau said. TD said it disagrees with the agency's conclusions.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 24, 2020

Betterment spearheads coalition aimed at diversifying fintech

"The goal here is to see continual progress. ... We know that there's a lot of work to do and we've got to do better," said Joe Ziemer, the company's vice president of communications.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 21, 2020

Scotiabank fined $127M over price manipulation scheme

For more than eight years, four Scotiabank traders placed thousands of unlawful orders for precious metals futures contracts in an effort to manipulate prices to benefit themselves and the bank, authorities said.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 20, 2020

JPMorgan Chase, USPS held talks to offer postal banking services

Despite preliminary conversations about leasing space for ATMs, the bank said there is no agreement in place and no imminent plans to move forward.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 19, 2020

Rakuten again withdraws application for deposit insurance

If the e-commerce giant decides to submit a third application, industrial loan company charter opponents, which have railed against the model for more than a decade, will likely continue their fight.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 19, 2020

Colorado settles 'true lender' suit against banks, fintech partners

Companies can qualify for a legal safe harbor in the state if they comply with a ban on loans with a higher-than-36% annual percentage rate.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 19, 2020

Fed researches 'hypothetical' central bank digital currency

The introduction of bitcoin and other stablecoins such as Facebook's Libra have raised fundamental questions about legal and regulatory safeguards and the role of currency in society, Fed Gov. Lael Brainard said.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 17, 2020

OCC chief expects SWIFT-like bank-to-blockchain connections in 3 to 5 years

Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks touted stablecoin's cost and speed advantages in a podcast interview Thursday while knocking the Fed's preference for government-owned payment rails.

By Ted Knutson • Aug. 14, 2020

Bank of America to ensure breaks, privacy for nursing mothers after DOL probe

The bank agreed to provide training for some of its managers and HR personnel and to inform expecting mothers who intend to take maternity leave of its break time policy.

By Lisa Burden • Aug. 13, 2020

Citi employee alleges retaliation for raising concerns about prospective hire

When the employer shared plans to hire a director who had just resigned from Deutsche Bank, the plaintiff said he reported his concerns to HR.

By Kate Tornone • Aug. 13, 2020

Biggest US, European banks added 19K employees through June

Some of the banks in the plus column should be no surprise. Citi, for example, announced plans to hire 2,500 coders. However, Wells Fargo's days with a net-positive headcount may be numbered.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 13, 2020