Calabria’s added role in Trump admin, Morais joins First Citizens
Dr. Mark Calabria takes on the additional role of chief statistician of the United States; retired Ally Bank executive Diane Morais has joined First Citizens Bancshares’ board of directors; MainStreet Bank has promoted Alex Vari to chief financial officer; and more in this week’s banking news roundup.
Civista in Ohio strikes deal for in-state neighbor
The buyer said its $70 million cash-and-stock deal for Farmers State Bank will boost its presence in the northeast section of Ohio, and provide plenty of low-cost deposits
Accenture, Microsoft partner on AI-driven cybersecurity
Cyber firms are teaming up with cloud providers to build faster, smarter, AI-powered defenses.
Card delinquencies fell in Q1, while interest rates rose
Historically high interest rates and falling late-payment rates suggest that credit card issuers are tightening their underwriting standards amid economic uncertainty.
Two more states usher in earned wage access laws
Connecticut has set strict new rules for EWA providers; Louisiana’s regulation is more aligned with existing state laws.
How AI agents are infiltrating business payments
Intuit and Ramp, two firms that work with fintechs that compete with banks, are using agentic artificial intelligence to automate mundane tasks.
HUD dissolves “woke” policies created by appraisal task force
The Department of Housing and Urban Development reiterated it has withdrawn a number of FHA mortgagee letters related to appraisals.
The Trump administration should dispose of the FFIEC Manual
Foisted on the banking industry decades ago, with no formal rulemaking process, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Manual should be eliminated in favor of new rules crafted with the input of relevant stakeholders.
Yeehaw — Texas community banks outperform peers across U.S.
Seven of the 20 top-performing banks with $2 billion to $10 billion of assets last year were based in Texas. But it’s not about being bigger.
Wash. bank CEO to step down amid $106 million lawsuit
First Northwest Bancorp is parting ways with CEO Matt Deines “by mutual agreement,” the Port Angeles, Washington-based company said. Deines’ departure comes a month after a hedge fund sued, alleging the lender was complicit in a Ponzi scheme.