Fintech

Part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's mandate is to educate consumers by providing reliable information. With its credit card late fee "report" and the associated rulemaking, it has failed to live up to that responsibility.

Executives of Allegiant, Breeze and Spirit complained to the heads of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department of Transportation that the relationships between big banks and big airlines are anticompetitive. Consumer advocates also questioned whether large airlines are delivering on promised rewards and if consumers are racking up debt to accrue miles and points.

Bank stocks are up this year as interest rates have leveled off and there are hopes that pressure on lenders' profits could moderate.

National Australia Bank is adding a Pay By Bank option for near-instant payments, Italy is bringing open-loop payments to buses in Tuscany, and more.

Incumbents face the challenge of updating their infrastructure for digital payments, while newcomers are pushing to compete by using artificial intelligence, cloud hosting and other technologies.

Big national retailers will capture all the financial benefits from proposed reductions in swipe fees, while consumers will be left with fewer benefits programs and less secure transactions.

Nearly 15 years ago, Les Lieberman and other organizers of Porticoes Capital used a shelf charter to buy a spate of failed banks. Now they're hoping to replay the strategy.

What's the point of regulatory capital rules that ignore demonstrated problems, like unrealized losses? We need to rethink what banks' disclose to investors and regulators.

The Los Angeles-based company, which focuses on Korean Americans, said the acquisition of Territorial Bancorp will allow it to expand its customer base.

Banks and other financial market participants have been keyed into the central bank's communications around monetary policy expectations. But in an unpredictable economy, the guidance doesn't always hit the mark.