The financial news that actually matters
The Banking & Regulation section covers major updates in banking systems, financial regulations, account policies, and institutional changes. It explains how banks operate, how new rules affect consumers, and what policy changes mean for everyday financial decisions.
A tiny, newly chartered credit union in the St. Louis suburbs shut its doors in early August after federal regulators determined it was insolvent, marking one of the shortest lifespans on record for a federally chartered credit union. For the roughly 183 members who banked there, the closure carried none of the financial risk the…
A brokerage account statement can list both a stock portfolio and a cash balance on the same page, and it is easy to assume both are protected the same way. They are not. The cash sitting uninvested in that account, waiting to be put to work, may actually carry federal deposit insurance behind the scenes,…
A grandparent who wires money to a stranger posing as a grandchild’s lawyer, or sends a Zelle payment to someone impersonating a bank’s fraud department, usually has no legal right to get that money back. The reason surprises many account holders: once a transfer is authorized by the person who owns the account, even if…
A debit card purchase that would overdraw an account is either covered by the bank for a fee or declined outright at the register, and which of those two outcomes happens depends on a single opt-in choice most account holders made, often without realizing it, when they opened the account. Declining that coverage, or canceling…
A certificate of deposit bought through a brokerage account looks and behaves like a bank CD in most respects, carrying the same FDIC insurance on the underlying deposit, but it trades more like a bond when an owner needs the money back early. Selling a brokered CD before its maturity date can return less than…
A bank can lock a customer out of a checking or savings account the moment its fraud-monitoring systems flag something unusual, long before any wrongdoing is proven and often without saying exactly why. For an older account holder living on a fixed income, a freeze that lasts even a few days can mean a missed…
Five federally insured banks failed in the United States in 2026, more than in any single year since 2023, as regulators shut down small community lenders in Illinois, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas and Pennsylvania. Every one of those closures ended the same way for the people who banked there: not a single depositor lost money, because…
A federal student loan benefit that used to shave a quarter of a percentage point off a borrower’s interest rate now cuts a full point, but only for those who are actually enrolled in automatic payments. The U.S. Department of Education raised the autopay discount on Direct Loans from 0.25% to 1.00% starting July 1,…
Millions of older Americans keep cash parked in accounts they simply call “money market,” but that label covers two very different financial products with two very different safety nets underneath them. A money market deposit account, opened directly at a bank or credit union, is backed by federal deposit insurance up to strict dollar limits….
A certificate of deposit pays a higher rate than an ordinary savings account in exchange for one condition: the money stays put until the term ends. Breaking that deal early does not usually cost a flat fee. It costs interest, sometimes several months of it, and the exact math is buried in paperwork most savers…
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