Since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) started cracking down on “junk fees” in 2022, a number of big banks have eliminated those fees altogether. That was great news for consumers and it made wonderful headlines, but that is still…
Why Does the Banking Industry Keep Shrinking?
In the first quarter 2024, we lost 16 banks to mergers or acquisitions and welcomed just one de novo. In all of 2023, 121 banks were lost with just six new banks opening to replace them. The process of opening…
Lahaina, Maui: a Year After the Wildfires
A year after the worst U.S. fire in over a century and the water in Lahaina, Maui is finally “safe to drink”. That, combined with a 90% clearing of the demolished residential lots and a $4 billion settlement announced on August…
7 Banks Hold Nearly 80% of Industry Credit Card Loans
Two of those seven seven banks are 5-Star Capital One, N.A. and 4-Star Discover Bank, which have combined credit card loans of $230 billion. If their merger is approved, the combined bank will have much more than the current #1,…