Fintech

Share prices climbed sharply amid increased optimism about the outlook for interest rates. Regional banks that got hammered earlier this year were among the biggest winners.

Bank failures last spring forced many startup businesses to shift where they store their cash. JPMorgan Chase appears to be the top beneficiary, but other banks say they are just as eager to reel in deposits and do more business with the innovation economy.

The program helped more than 23,000 consumers establish credit scores in its first year through partnerships with three fintechs, all of which were chosen to renew their participation.

The deal for SimplyBank, scheduled to be completed in the second quarter, would give First Financial in Terre Haute, Indiana, additional branches in Tennessee and its first presence in Georgia.

But high costs and any downturn in the economy could weigh on lenders and their commercial borrowers in coming months, economists caution.

The technology, which has its roots in cryptocurrency, could make corporate transactions more flexible.

Singapore's third-largest lender is again banking on a blockbuster concert partnership to boost fee income, fresh on the heels of its success with Taylor Swift concert tickets.

Roy and Bertrand Sosa have retaken control of Netspend to combine it with their other firm, Rev Worldwide, to build the companies into an international financial services provider.

NatWest is updating its chatbot, Cora, to make engagement more conversational, and Amex is working with the Canadian fintech Nuvei to promote bank-transfer payments to U.K. merchants.

As U.S. credit card balances continue to march above $1 trillion, the number of newly delinquent credit card users now exceeds the pre-pandemic average and millennials and those with student or auto loans are driving the increase in past-due payments, the New York Fed said.