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Acquire or be acquired may be the new reality for small and midsize banks

Mar 14, 2024
Many are struggling with high deposit rates and shaky commercial real estate portfolios. Some seek to bulk up as a solution.
First Republic failed and was absorbed by JPMorgan Chase. Due to pressures in the banking industry, some expect to see more consolidation.
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Banks are still grappling with fallout of SVB's failure one year on

Mar 11, 2024
Regulators are more watchful, and banks are trying to be more resourceful.
The banking system was caught off guard by the problems at Silicon Valley Bank,  Signature Bank and First Republic Bank.
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What does it mean for a bank to find “material weaknesses”?

Mar 4, 2024
Regional lender New York Community Bancorp swapped out its CEO last week following the revelation of what it called “material weaknesses in the company’s internal controls.
New York Community Bank acquired nearly $40 billion in assets from Signature Bank last year. That rapid growth can make it hard for internal controls to keep up.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A year after Silicon Valley Bank failed, lenders are still feeling pressure on all sides

Feb 23, 2024
Rising interest rates have cranked up the interest banks are paying depositors. But banks also have a lot of cash stuck in low-interest bonds and loans they made before the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates.
A lot of the problems that last year’s bank failures revealed are still troubling small and mid-sized banks today.
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JPMorgan Chase announces brick-and-mortar bank expansion in a digital age

Feb 6, 2024
The country's largest bank says it will open more than 500 new branches and renovate another 1,700. That's good for customers, but what's in it for the bank?
JPMorgan Chase will open up more than 500 new brick-and-mortar branches, some in new markets where the bank doesn't have as much of a presence.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

How pizza can explain a proposed rule about bank capital

Jan 16, 2024
Regulators want to make sure banks have enough money on hand to weather wobbles in the economy. Too much risk can ruin a good meal.
If you think of the funding a bank uses to do business as a pizza, debt would be slices with unusual toppings (which come with more risk) and equity slices would be plain cheese. The proposed rule would require more of those plain slices. But the banking industry warns that would cost more.
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"Has there ever been a bigger gap" between economic mood and actual numbers? Chicago Fed president asks

Nov 28, 2023
Chicago Fed's Austan Goolsbee on the consumer sentiment disconnect, and what happens if interest rates stay high for too long.
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
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Federal Reserve losses contribute to federal deficit

Oct 24, 2023
When the central bank makes money, it hands it to the Treasury. But now it's losing money as it pays interest to banks on their deposits.
The Fed is, among other things, a bank for banks, and it pays interest to those banks. Those interest rates have gone up. Above, the Eccles building, which houses Fed governors' offices.
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Big banks post big profits

Oct 13, 2023
The classic way banks make money rests on three words: net interest income.
Big banks JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup told investors they netted a combined $22 billion this past quarter.
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