Banking

Fifteen million Americans who owe a combined $49 billion in medical debt would benefit from a proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to scrub medical debts from credit reports and ban their use in underwriting decisions.

During New York Community Bancorp's annual shareholder meeting, executives reiterated their mission to restore value in the beleaguered Long Island-based company. Questions from shareholders suggested at least some discontent following a capital influx that significantly diluted their position in the company.

The transaction will not have a set collateral pool at closing, but a prefunding account will support issued notes during an initial two-month prefunding period.

Slated to close on June 13, Regional Management Issuance will pay notes on the 15 of each month, beginning in July 2024. With a May 31, 2024 initial cut-off date, the transaction has a three-year revolving period ending May 31, 2027.

The latest note sale is within the February securitization's two-year revolving period. It brings the total issuance to $1 billion and the notes have a maturity date of February 15, 2029.

Atlanta Postal Credit Union's bid to acquire Affinity Bank marked the 11th deal overall this year involving a credit union buying a bank, matching the total for all of 2023. Separately, members voted against the merger of two credit unions in Indiana.

SouthState Corp. plans to purchase Independent Bank Group in a $2 billion deal, marking an end to the latter bank's long run of buying companies. Chairman and CEO David Brooks pointed to a challenging interest rate environment and heightened regulatory scrutiny as reasons he decided to sell.

Executives at the Toronto-based bank said last year that they planned to add 150 branches in the United States. But when pressed on Thursday, they could not say how much they'll scale back their ambitions due to investigations over TD's anti-money laundering practices.

West Coast Community Bancorp agreed to acquire 1st Capital Bancorp in an all-stock deal slated to close in the fourth quarter.

At an industry conference, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said he was open to suggestions on how to increase choice and competition to benefit mortgage lenders and borrowers.