Banking

The American Bankers Association's credit conditions index remained near historic lows despite a slight uptick in the most recent quarter. Pessimism pervaded the outlook for both business and consumer lending.

The findings from Standard & Poor's show little impact from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's proposal regarding what information is required to underwrite a conforming mortgage.

CEO Curtis Farmer said the warehouse sector, where Comerica provides lines of credit to mortgage banking companies, has not been providing much help as the company seeks to bolster deposits.

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, lambasted the Federal Reserve for increasing the dominance of "too big to fail" banks and failing to rein in systemic risk. He asked whether the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a better regulator than the Fed.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra warned that "powerful firms" must not dominate the new open banking landscape.

The Providence, R.I.-based bank has been scaling down its indirect auto lending program since last year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued only 20 enforcement actions in 2022, but some observers say the enforcement numbers belie the results that director Rohit Chopra is getting from other ways of holding companies accountable.

When the once-ubiquitous interest rate goes away at the end of June, some businesses that have older loans may see a sudden jump in their payments. Banks, lawyers and business leaders are doing last-minute work to avoid that scenario.

About 17% of the 1,064 loans in the collateral pool had been securitized in two previous Newtek Small Business Loan Trust transactions, from 2016 and 2017, specifically.

The banking industry, which has been contending with deposit outflows, could get a short-term boost from spooked investors. But once the White House and House Republicans reach a deal on raising the debt ceiling, the pressure on deposits may resume, analysts say.