FeaturedFeatured Posts

• 6/3/2021

U.S. commercial banking, like many sectors of the economy, appears to be bouncing back after a challenging 2020. Return on average assets (ROA)—a key benchmark of bank profitability—averaged 1.38% in the first quarter of 2021, up 67 basis points from its year-end 2020 level and 100 basis points from a year earlier.

• 4/29/2021

This month, we are examining how these entrants have affected competition in the provision of financial services. Fintech firms have been labeled “disrupters.” Whether teaming up with financial institutions or going it alone, fintech firms—or neobanks—are rapidly gaining market share in several areas formerly dominated by financial institutions, such as payments and consumer loans.

• 3/29/2021

This month, we are examining some of the consumer issues that have surfaced with these innovative ways to bank. Technology has revolutionized the way consumers interact with the financial system. Older innovations (such as the internet and mobile devices) and newer developments (such as big data and computer algorithms) have changed banks and what we think of as banking: making deposits, taking out loans and managing investments.

• 2/25/2021

Just as with banks, there is no single licensing or regulatory agency that oversees fintech companies. Depending on their activities, they can be licensed or supervised by local, state or federal regulators on a functional, or activity-based, basis.

• 1/4/2021

Although many banks have maintained branch operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, others have cut back significantly, if temporarily, or announced accelerated plans for permanent closures. This has heightened concerns about an ongoing consolidation of branches nationwide, which has reduced their number by 11% from a peak of 92,030 in 2009.1

Branch closures increase the distance people must travel from where they live, shop, work or otherwise prefer to engage in financial transactions. Those affected sometimes have to go without or must drive long distances to access them. Businesses may be forced to close during the workday to make deposits or withdraw cash in distant cities.2 The elderly, people with mobility issues and those without access to transportation may be particularly inconvenienced.