Capital One Financial in McLean, Va., and Walmart have ended their consumer card partnership. The $482 billion-asset Capital One said in a press release that the parties ended a 2018 agreement that made the financial services company the exclusive issuer of Walmart consumer credit cards. Capital One will retain ownership and servicing of the card accounts. The companies had been squabbling in recent months, with Walmart claiming in a lawsuit that

Comerica in Dallas has agreed to beef up its compliance practices under an enforcement action with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The agreement came after the OCC found unsafe and unsound practices at the $79.4 billion-asset company, with a focus on its risk governance and internal controls. There was no financial penalty associated with the agreement. Comerica agreed to form a compliance committee and will show the

SR Bancorp in Bound Brook, N.J., has sold “the vast majority” of its available-for-sale securities portfolio.   The $1.1 billion-asset company said in a press release that it sold $35.4 million of lower-yielding investment securities for a pretax loss of about $4.4 million.   The company expects to redeploy the $30.9 million of proceeds into roughly the same amount of residential and commercial real estate mortgages, which is expected to

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interpretive rule confirming that Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) lenders are credit card providers while setting expectations for disclosures, refunds and handling disputes. The CFPB, which began an inquiry into BNPL practices in 2021, said it continues to field consumer complaints tied to refunds and disputed transactions. “When consumers check out and choose Buy Now, Pay Later, they don’t know if they will get a

CBC Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy Bay Community Bancorp in Oakland. The $2.4 billion-asset parent of Commercial Bank of California said in a press release that it will pay about $121 million in cash, based on the $975 million-asset Bay Community’s shares outstanding. The deal is expected to close late this year or in early 2025. Bay Community was the first financial institution in California to be

West Coast Community Bancorp in Santa Cruz, Calif., has agreed to buy 1st Capital Bancorp in Salinas, Calif. The $1.7 billion-asset West Coast said in a press release that it will pay $63 million in stock for the $1 billion-asset 1st Capital. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced 1st Capital at 97% of its tangible book value. Krista Snelling will remain West Coast’s president

FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said he is willing to step down after a successor is confirmed. Gruenberg had endured intensifying calls for him to step down, including public statements from former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and chair of the Senate Banking Committee. “It has been my honor to serve at the FDIC as chairman, vice chairman, and director since” August 2005, he wrote in a

An influential lawmaker is encouraging the White House to replace Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement that “fundamental changes” are needed at the FDIC. "Those changes begin with new leadership, who must fix the agency's toxic culture and put the women and men who work there — and their mission — first,” Brown added. Brown