Mortgage rates slide to historic lows for third time this month
The 30-year fixed-rate average, the most popular mortgage product, sank to 2.66% with an average 0.7 point, according to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.
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Memory Bank: State Bank of Advance in 1910
The Boone County bank featured equipment that was modern at the time, including model screw door safes with triple-time locks and substantial vaults.
First Merchants to close 17 bank branch locations
The company said it would use the savings from the closures to beef up its digital banking and in-branch technology initiatives.
First Merchants to acquire Indianapolis-based Hoosier Trust Co.
Muncie-based First Merchants plans to acquire Hoosier Trust for $3.2 million in a deal that is expected to close early next year.
Bank deposits soar as customers save instead of borrow
High levels of uncertainty, along with other pandemic-related factors, have pushed U.S. commercial bank deposits to record highs since the beginning of the year.
First Internet Bancorp reports record quarterly profit
The Fishers-based parent of First Internet Bancorp had a milestone quarter thanks to a boom in mortgage activity, the company reported Wednesday afternoon.
Chase remains Indy’s biggest bank
PNC and Fifth Third rank as the second and third largest area bank by deposits.
Study finds inequities in lending in majority-Black neighborhoods
Although redlining—discrimination in banking and lending based on someone’s race or where they live—has been illegal since the Fair Housing Act passed in 1968, analysts at Indiana University’s Public Policy Institute found that inequities in home-loan lending still exist.
Banks adding branches in Hamilton, Hendricks counties
State Bank will also move its Danville branch to 8589 Rockville Road in Avon, near the Hendricks Regional Health YMCA. That location is set to open Nov. 9.
U.S. consumer spending experiences $7.2 billion monthly drop
Consumer borrowing is closely followed for signals it can send about households’ willingness to take on more debt to support their spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity.
First Merchants CEO Rechin stepping down after 13 years
Mike Rechin, who has served as the bank’s president and CEO since 2007, plans to retire at the end of the year. His departure will trigger several promotions among the bank’s other executives.
Chase to close three Indianapolis bank branches
The three branches, all of them in Indianapolis, will close on different dates in October and November. Even after the closures, though, Chase will still have three dozen or so locations around the city.
Consumer borrowing shows second straight monthly gain
U.S. consumer borrowing rose by a solid 3.6% in July, the second monthly gain after the coronavrius pandemic had sent consumer borrowing down sharply in the previous three months.
Fifth Third Bank announces market president change
Kevin Hipskind, Fifth Third’s Indianapolis-based market president since 2018, has been promoted. His successor comes from Louisville, where he has been market president since 2015.
Bank CEOs warn of tougher economic road after recent gains
The road to recovery for the U.S. economy will be uneven, unclear and uncertain as the coronavirus retains its hold on business and Americans’ everyday activities, according to the heads of the nation’s biggest banks.
Federal banking agencies ease Volcker Rule restrictions
The announcement of the easing of regulations know as the “Volcker Rule” gave an immediate boost to bank stocks because the rule change could free up billions of dollars in capital in the banking industry.
Record-low interest rates have sparked a refinancing free-for-all
A borrower who took out a 30-year, $200,000 mortgage in 2018 at an interest rate of 4.55% would have a monthly payment of $1,019. By refinancing into a 30-year mortgage with a 3.46% interest rate, the monthly payment would drop to $865.
Indiana banks sock away extra money for COVID-19-related loan losses
Amid the widespread economic disruption caused by the pandemic, banks have already granted payment deferrals of up to six months to a significant number of commercial and individual borrowers.
SBA temporarily stops taking PPP applications from big banks to focus until midnight on smallest lenders
For an eight-hour period that began at 4 p.m. Wednesday, the PPP loan application portal is being reserved only for the nation’s smallest lenders: those with assets of less than $1 billion.
Local businesses wait, wonder if they’ll secure PPP loan funding
The Paycheck Protection Program began accepting applications again Monday with an additional $310 billion. But local business owners who were shut out during the first round were uncertain whether they’ll fare any better this time.