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Postal banking won’t deliver for USPS

U.S. Post Office worker, postal banking, mailman, postman
A United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier delivers mail in Shelbyville, Kentucky, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. More than 30 million packages handled by the USPS are estimated to be delivered on December 22, which is still a fraction of the 750 million packages this holiday season, a 12 percent increase over last year. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
Proponents of a plan to get the Postal Service more involved in banking say it would restore profitability. Actually it would lose more money.

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Warren wants answers from Wells Fargo on closed-account fees

Pedestrians walk past a Wells Fargo bank branch in Los Angeles.
After a news report said the bank kept alive accounts customers thought they had closed, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told acting CEO Allen Parker in a letter that Wells is "still fundamentally broken."

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Capital One to buy tech-focused investment bank

Capital One branch
The consent order between the Federal Reserve and Capital One required the bank to submit progress reports on its efforts to improve its risk management functions.
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Capital One agreed to buy KippsDeSanto, a Northern Virginia company that specializes in advice to the defense and government contracting sectors.

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Water shortages are becoming a banking problem

States categorized by so-called 'baseline water stress'
Recent studies offer a dire outlook for water levels in drought-prone states. Some banks are bracing for this risk with changes to underwriting of real-estate-related loans.

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Taxpayers are the GSEs' true stockholders

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A Freddie Mac sign hangs behind employee John Estrada as he works in the borrower contact unit area at Freddie headquarters in McLean, Virginia, U.S., on Tuesday, April 8, 2014. Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said a bipartisan bill to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is too complicated and doesn't do enough to address too-big-to-fail concerns or provide assistance for affordable housing. The panel will consider the measure on April 29. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** John Estrada
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Complaints made by legacy shareholders of Freddie Mac have no value after the Treasury Department pumped up Freddie and Fannie Mae through conservatorship.

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Warren: Trump DOJ settlements let big banks off easy

Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, questions Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve nominee for U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, during a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. Powell signaled broad support for how the Fed operates, regulates and guides the economy, offering a full-throated defense of the government institution he's about to lead. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Following an article by American Banker and ProPublica that detailed how political appointees weakened the penalties paid by two large banks, the Massachusetts senator is demanding more information from the Justice Department.

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Restaurant business is giving lenders indigestion

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As a growing number of chains go bankrupt, loan charge-offs are rising.

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Rival South Florida banks team up to go after bigger fish

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Professional Bank and Marquis Bank, both of Coral Gables, have been competing against each other for more than a decade. Now they are merging in hopes of landing larger clients and making better use of technology being developed in Professional's innovation lab.

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Bankers turn curiously optimistic about the economy

Promontory Interfinancial Network's Bank Confidence Index
Competition for deposits is tight, the outlook for loan demand is uncertain, and regulatory relief is slow-moving. Yet community bankers are feeling better about the economy than they have in two years, a Promontory Interfinancial Network survey found.

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What's left of the Volcker Rule after the final rewrite?

FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg
Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. The Financial Stability Oversight Council's effort to enhance its transparency is "important," Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commissioner Mary Jo White said at the hearing. Photographer: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Martin Gruenberg
Drew Angerer/Bloomberg
After two regulatory agencies adopted final revisions to the rule, Dodd-Frank defenders expressed concern that the amendments to the proprietary trading ban undermined the post-crisis statute.

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