Banking

Washington Trust shares plunged after the Westerly, Rhode Island, company disclosed it booked an office deal in the third quarter, boosting the size of its portfolio while other lenders are pulling back.

The student loan servicer said that it's open to settling a high-stakes lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration. It recorded a $45 million charge and said that the range of reasonably possible losses is between $0 and $250 million.

Ted Pick, a co-president and three-decade veteran of the firm, will be elevated to the top role in January and join the board, the bank said in a statement Wednesday.

Esoteric transactions' premiums and longer durations are especially attractive, as other consumer assets are put to the test.

Both tranches have the same legal final maturity of Oct. 20, 2033, an initial (OC) of 26.00%, and an initial reserve of 0.50%.

The deal has the smallest pool balance from the ACHV program this year, with an aggregate current principal balance of $177.8 million. The collateral pool contains 14,141 loans, with an average current loan size of $12,577.

Charge-offs at the Detroit-based lender rose last quarter, as borrowers had a tougher time keeping up with their car payments. But so far, credit quality is staying within expectations, and company executives don't anticipate that the rest of the year will be much worse.

The deal has a prefunding account with $12 million deposited at closing, and will use that amount to purchase additional collateral during its 90-day period after the deal closes.

There's limited evidence of trouble in credit portfolios currently, but the worst is yet to come, according to a recent IACPM survey.

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank expects to save $325 million next year as it reduces its staff by 4%. Executives said the cuts are necessary because revenue has fallen amid a surge in interest rates and a decline in loan volumes.

Following the end of a long moratorium for federal student loan borrowers, monthly payments are expected to total $18 billion. Much of that money will come from checking and savings accounts, which will put more pressure on banks' deposit bases.

The notes have the same final scheduled repayment date of Oct. 22, 2035, an initial credit enhancement that ranges from 43.85% on the class A notes to 13.15% on the class E notes.

Notes will repay investors on a sequential basis, S&P said. One of S&P's rationales for assigning its ratings is the available credit support, including excess spread of 49.0%, 44.7%, 37.3% and 31.5% on classes A, B, C and D notes.

In a deal arranged by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Pittsburgh bank has bought a portfolio from the wreckage of Signature Bank. The purchase should help PNC expand its fund banking business, which helps private equity firms manage liquidity and finance investments in the short term.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg said despite earlier proposals for reforming deposit insurance following this spring's bank failures, congressional interest in major reforms has waned and prospects for legislative changes are dim.

Credit unions and banks are lending more to merchants based in the Western U.S., reflecting trends reported in the Umpqua Bank 2023 Business Barometer and running against broader economic pessimism.

The deal is the eleventh this year for Pagaya AI Debt Selection Trust, and is slated to close by September 29.

Purchases of new single-family homes fell 8.7% to a 675,000 annualized pace following an upward revision to July's figures, government data showed Tuesday, marking the largest drop in nearly a year.

Credit ratings were cut on the highest number of commercial mortgage-backed securities in "recent memory" last week, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp.

With a week left in its 2023 fiscal year, the Small Business Administration has already approved 12% more 7(a) loans than last year. Larger banks were among the biggest gainers as a result, according to the agency's latest data.