American Banker Magazine - May 2018

Though the prospects for these small banks look good in 2018, they also face serious challenges, particularly in the competition for low-cost deposits against the more digitally savvy megabanks.

With rate hikes aplenty expected this year, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are said to be subdividing key markets to target deposit pricing in the future and minimize costs. These are among several innovative steps large banks are taking to prepare for more competition for deposits.

Banks say that an appeals court’s decision to ease restrictions will allow them to warn customers more easily when loans are past due or accounts have been compromised. But consumer groups argue that the decision gives financial firms license to market their products more aggressively and could lead to more harassing phone calls over unpaid debts.

The Atlanta bank will hold the loans on its books and pay Microf for a fee the referrals. The partnership will further its expansion in consumer lending.

Some investors fear BBVA is taking a big risk by getting into unsecured personal lending long after online lenders have established themselves, but bank officials argue the bank’s cost of funds and in-depth knowledge of its customers will help it to outdo the competition.

Behavioral biometrics are attractive because they are easy to implement, hard for criminals to spoof and not subject to the same privacy protections applied to thumbprints or retina scans.