The financial news that actually matters
The federal government’s beneficial ownership reporting system was once poised to reach a huge share of the American small-business economy. Under the original framework, millions of corporations, LLCs, and similar entities were expected to disclose the real people behind them to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. That is no longer the…
The average U.S. credit score remains in solid territory nationally, but the broader picture is less reassuring than a single headline number might suggest. While many borrowers are still managing to stay current on their bills, the national average has not been climbing steadily. Instead, recent data points to a market that is holding up…
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been putting more energy into a message that sounds simple but still trips up many Americans: most bank deposits are protected, but only up to specific limits and only under specific rules. That matters because confusion about deposit insurance tends to surge whenever the banking sector looks shaky, and…
The future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s attempt to curb overdraft charges is no longer just a fight over one banking rule. It has become an early measure of how far the new administration is willing to go in pulling back consumer regulations that were finalized at the end of the Biden era.For bank…
For many American households, the extra cash cushion built during the pandemic is no longer providing much protection. Stimulus payments, enhanced jobless benefits, and a temporary drop in spending during lockdowns helped many families build up unusually large bank balances in 2020 and 2021. But that cushion has steadily thinned as inflation raised the cost…
U.S. banks are carrying about $42 billion in credit card balances that are at least 30 days past due, according to figures drawn from bank Call Reports and highlighted in recent coverage. On its own, that total is eye-catching. In context, it points to something broader: more households are falling behind on card payments after…
For older Americans who still waited on the mail for their monthly benefit check, the federal government’s paper-payment era is effectively over. After years of nudging retirees toward direct deposit, the U.S. Department of the Treasury moved in 2025 to stop issuing paper checks for most federal payments, including Social Security. The change was sold…
Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust in Chicago became the first U.S. bank to fail in 2026 after Illinois regulators shut it down on Jan. 30 and handed the institution over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver. The failure was small by national banking standards, but it still carried a real cost. The FDIC…
Tricolor Holdings, a used car seller and subprime auto lender that served low-income buyers across the southern United States, has collapsed under the weight of federal fraud allegations, leaving thousands of borrowers uncertain about the status of their car loans. The company’s CEO, CFO, and COO now face criminal charges in connection with what prosecutors…
The largest U.S. banks shed jobs at the fastest clip in nearly a decade through 2024 and 2025, driven by aggressive investment in artificial intelligence and automation tools designed to cut costs. Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and their peers filed annual disclosures showing workforce numbers that reflect a sustained contraction, even as revenues held steady…