Bankshot

A Federal Reserve-issued digital dollar could speed up payments, expand financial access and reduce financial crime. But it also brings trade-offs that policymakers are only just beginning to consider. 

In this featured episode from the Arizent special series, net worth disparities and the roles housing and mortgage discrimination play in Black homeownership show how it's impossible to close the gaps without eliminating racism.

A disputed outcome could cause significant market turmoil in the coming months — and have far more serious repercussions over the longer term.

The fees have helped banks recoup costs of free or low-cost checking accounts for decades, but they can penalize low-income customers and drive them away from banking. Is there a better way?

For decades lawmakers have ignored broad structural flaws in the National Flood Insurance Program, which underpins millions of home mortgages. And the problem is only getting worse.

The stock market has reached record highs despite rampant unemployment, recession and a global pandemic. What gives?

With the USPS emerging as an election-year flashpoint, postal banking is an idea that could gain steam. But a number of proposals are out there, and they have widely varying implications for financial inclusion.

As the discredited Libor interest rate benchmark enters its last months, some banks are turning away from the repo-based alternative that regulators prefer. What could go wrong?

Regulators are urging banks to offer small-dollar loans again and lifting existing restrictions on nonbank lenders. But the real challenge is making those loans favorable to consumers without losing money.

While most of the public attention has been on Joe Biden's lead in presidential polls, any true overhaul of the bank regulatory landscape hinges on whether Democrats can retake the Senate — and by what margin.

The 2008 financial crisis transformed banking regulation. But how have those changes held up in the current recession, and what might be coming next?

A sneak peek of a new podcast launching on American Banker later this summer as part of our Leaders forum, where senior voices and innovators will share their leadership experiences and perspectives on business-critical topics. Arizent CEO Gemma Postlethwaite talks with Ernie Johannson, BMO’s Group Head of North American Personal and Business Banking, about leadership during the Covid-19 crisis, organizational agility and lessons in discernment.

The Supreme Court is poised to decide the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's leadership structure, but the implications could reach far beyond the bureau.

Dramatic volatility in the global oil market, plummeting demand and potential regulatory risks are making some banks rethink their energy strategy.

Lawmakers are working to head off a wave of pandemic-related personal credit downgrades. But there are bigger problems with how credit risk is assessed that are harder to solve.

The pandemic is taking a toll on tax receipts, leading the central bank to establish a municipal debt facility. Without a turnaround, the consequences for the financial system could be dire.

From the producers of Bankshot comes a five-part series on cybersecurity called Zero Day. Cybersecurity is one of the leading sources of risk for the financial system, but no one seems to be doing much to address that risk. This series explores why that is, and whether anything can be done to make the internet more secure. All five episodes are available now wherever you get podcasts.

The office and retail markets could look very different in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what it could mean for lenders.

With the government pumping trillions of new spending into the economy, experts are questioning the Federal Reserve's ability to keep prices stable.

The novel coronavirus poses not only an unprecedented health crisis, but an unprecedented financial crisis as well. Can we forestall a worst-case scenario?