Banking

Western Benefits Group initiated contracts with student loan borrowers extracting monthly fees upfront, while claiming to negotiate debt consolidation through a supposed affiliation with the Department of Education, the CFPB said.

The number of borrowers who are at their credit limits is approaching its pre-pandemic level, and the percentage of balances that are sliding into delinquency has hit its highest rate in more than a decade, according to new research. Still, card companies are generally expressing optimism about their credit outlooks.

Yields are expected to range from 6.3% on the AAA notes to 7.4% on the BBB notes, which are priced against the three-month interpolated yield curve, and have a final schedule payment date of May 15, 2029.

Other financial regulators have been examining AI in underwriting because potential biases or otherwise faulty criteria could lead to bad outcomes, while agencies including the Federal Trade Commission are looking into non-financial companies.

Bank stocks are up this year as interest rates have leveled off and there are hopes that pressure on lenders' profits could moderate.

The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a 30-page guidebook on managing affiliate risks. The report builds on formal guidance issued last year.

In talks with OCC officials, "it became obvious that we would not gain near-term approval given their recent experience with multifamily and CRE positions," FirstSun CEO Neal Arnold says. The companies announced other revisions to their deal, too.

Consolidation has slowed since the pandemic, but UMB's agreement to buy Heartland Financial — the largest deal in three years — is one of several merger announcements in the past two weeks. Talks among other potential buyers and sellers are said to be picking up.

The Philadelphia-based bank's parent company, Republic First Bancshares, had been roiled by a yearslong proxy battle involving activist investors groups and its former CEO.

Lendbuzz sells the notes as it juggles mixed performance results from 2023. Originations and revenues saw huge jumps, but so did operating expenses.