The year saw anxiety over how banks would respond to record consumer debt, disruptive glitches at TD Bank and SunTrust, ongoing scandal at Wells Fargo, and much, much more.
The top stories of 2018
December 30, 2018 10:12 PM
Consumer debt is at an all-time high. Should banks be worried?
As memories of the financial crisis fade, consumers are back to their old spending and saving habits — and that could be a big problem.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Regulators fine U.S. Bank more than $600M for AML errors
U.S. Bancorp has agreed to pay $613 million in penalties to state and federal authorities for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and a faulty anti-money-laundering program.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Despite careful planning, TD Bank fumbles online banking upgrade
Scores of customers have been unable to use digital channels to access accounts for more than a week, and many have taken to social media to voice their displeasure with TD's response to the outage. The lesson for other banks: Test new platforms, and test them again, before making them live.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
SunTrust glitch takes down online, mobile service
The bank chalked up its outage to "a normal system upgrade that experienced technical difficulty."
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Why point-of-sale lending is hot right now
Banks are capitalizing on changing consumer habits — and satisfying a pressing need to diversify their loan portfolios — with a spate of instant point-of-sale loans for everything from iPhones to home improvements.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Not just Wells Fargo: OCC finds sales practice abuses at other banks
An inquiry into the sales practices of more than 40 banks launched in the wake of the Wells scandal found several systemic issues and hundreds of problems at individual institutions. The OCC completed the review in December but is not making the results public.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Don't believe the hype: There are no good uses for blockchain
After 10 years of development, nobody has come up with a use for blockchain that has been widely adopted.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
How artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs in banking
More than 1 million jobs will be lost to AI by 2030, according to one estimate. But new jobs are also being created. Are banks and their employees ready?
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Bank reputations fall for first time in five years: 2018 survey
Bank reputations are backsliding as consumers look for evidence of good corporate citizenship. But new data shows that a highly visible and vocal CEO — who talks about more than just the earnings report — can provide a major boost.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
Eric Thayer/Bloomberg
Wells Fargo was hit with more scandal. But does anyone care?
The bank continues to battle a series of negative headlines such as erroneous foreclosures, but public and investor reaction has been muted.
(Full storyhere .)
(Full story
