Bank of America's profit falls on a $1.2 billion penalty charge as regulators fault the largest banks over debanking
The main developments in finance, policy and markets today, updated with each news scan.
Updated · First published · AI-assisted reporting
- Bank & fintech
Bank of America's profit falls on penalty charge; Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, State Street gain
Bank of America's third-quarter net income fell to $6.9 billion from $8.3 billion after a $1.2 billion charge for anti-money-laundering and sanctions penalties, while Morgan Stanley, BlackRock and State Street reported higher profits and Progressive's was slightly lower.
Read the story - Policy
OCC says the nine largest national banks restricted services over customers' views
The OCC's final debanking report says JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo and five other large banks had policies from 2020 to September 2025 that limited services over customers' beliefs or lawful industries, and the CFPB said it will investigate.
Read the story - Macro
China's September exports jump 36%, far above forecasts
China's exports rose 36.3% from a year earlier and imports 31.0%, well above forecasts, lifting its trade surplus for the first nine months of 2026 to $938.11 billion.
Read the story - Credit & fraud
South Korea's AI-driven hacks reach 16 financial firms
South Korea's financial regulator said suspected AI-agent-driven cyberattacks have now hit 16 financial firms, up from seven first reported, exposing about 100,000 records, though no account or card numbers have been found among them.
Read the story - Policy
White House sets November 5 hearing on removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook
A presidential memo creates a three-member committee to report whether there is legal cause to fire Cook over 2021 mortgage statements; she denies wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Read the story
Updates to this briefing
- Added the OCC's debanking findings on the nine largest national banks; the IMF stability warning from Tuesday drops off.
- Today's bank earnings now lead; they replace Tuesday's earnings roundup and the Bank of America penalties item, which the new roundup covers.
- Added South Korea's widening count of AI-driven hacks on financial firms.
- First briefing of the day: China's September trade surge leads, with Tuesday's bank penalties, bank earnings, the IMF's stability warning and the Lisa Cook hearing carried forward.
Each item links to a full, sourced article. The briefing is rewritten through the day as news scans add stories; the notes above record each change.