Laura Alix

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.

Delinquencies have been ticking up since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and Capital One is warning of more pain unless the government provides additional relief to tenants and landlords.

The venture with Goldman Sachs represents the first time Amazon has let a third party control the underwriting process of one of its financing offerings.

The lender will pay $65 million in restitution and forgive nearly $500 million in auto debt to settle charges that it steered subprime borrowers into risky loans.

The regulation issued late on Tuesday directs state-regulated financial institutions to give mortgage borrowers at least 90 days of forbearance if they can show financial hardship resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. It also requires banks and credit unions to provide relief on ATM fees and credit card late payment fees.

The acquisition of the Texas-based lender will help Regions expand its offerings to small businesses while adding about $2 billion of loans to the bank's balance sheet.

Loans made for Fiat Chrysler represented the largest chunk of Santander Consumer's lending in the fourth quarter, and Mahesh Aditya said their relationship is his top priority.

New CEO Tim Wennes is counting on soon-to-launch digital offerings to boost consumer loans and deposits and playing up Santander's international reach in a bid to win over middle-market and corporate clients.

Many business customers are putting off expansion because they can’t find enough workers to fill available jobs.

The online lender said it applied insights from its partnership with Fifth Third Bancorp in developing a new digital platform it’s marketing to other large financial services companies.

It hasn't stimulated loan demand in ways banks hoped it might, and some CEOs fear future rate cuts might cause companies to hunker down.

A subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group placed first in a recent J.D. Power ranking of car dealer satisfaction with noncaptive auto lenders. However, that group — primarily banks and credit unions — lagged other types of auto lenders.

The hiring of Tim Wennes was one a series of leadership changes announced Wednesday by the holding company for the bank and the auto lender Santander Consumer.

It’s no coincidence that with more than half of consumers ages 20 to 29 now holding credit cards — up from 41% in 2012 — 90-day delinquency rates are at a seven-year high, according to the New York Fed.

Add the Alabama company to the list of lenders that are disappointed in the returns on loans made through car dealers and their inability to build broader relationships with those borrowers.

Executives from Ally Financial and Santander Consumer USA gave rosy outlooks about 2019 consumer trends, while other banks that rely less heavily on car lending offered more cautious appraisals.

The new unit will be based in Charlotte, N.C., and led by Bo Weatherly; it will provide warehouse lines of credit to nonbank consumer and commercial lenders; it will also provide underwriting services.

In selling its Walmart credit card portfolio to Capital One and extending a partnership with Sam’s Club that appeared to be in peril, Synchrony Financial avoids an expensive legal battle with the world’s largest retailer.

The passage of Proposition 111, which also prohibits lenders from adding origination and monthly maintenance fees, makes Colorado the fifth state to impose caps on payday loans through a voter referendum.

Scott Powell, the CEO of Santander Holdings USA, has spent years contending with a host of regulatory problems. He outlined a long-range vision that includes a branch-focused retail push and possible acquisitions.