Alan Kline

Whether it's regulation, cyber threats, vendor backlog or just plain inertia, U.S. banks still lag their overseas counterparts when it comes to mobile adoption.

Driven by solid gains in both interest and noninterest income, Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago reported a profit of $234.6 million in the third quarter, up 15% from the same period in 2014. Earnings per share climbed 14%, to 96 cents, in line with the estimates of analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Loan-loss provisions are trending up, partly due to an increase in overall lending but also because lenders are concerned about future losses on loans tied to the energy and manufacturing sectors.

Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., reported gains in loans and overall revenues in the third quarter, but its net income declined from the same period last year due to increases in its premium for federal deposit insurance and provision for loan losses.

Acquisitions would seem to be a logical course of action for regional banks struggling to cut costs and boost revenues in the low interest rate environment, but some bank chief executives are less open to the idea than others as comments by the heads of First Horizon and SunTrust demonstrate.

First Horizon National Corp. reported a sharp increase in its third-quarter profit as an increase in average loans, lower overhead and a decrease in income tax payments helped to offset a 9% decline in total revenue.

Sound growth plans, not quirks of geography, define this year’s class of community bank all-stars.

Regional banks did a much better job of expanding revenue than their megabank counterparts in the third quarter, but they had to spend more to do so and risk angering investors in a tight-margin environment.

Profits at First Republic Bank fell slightly in the third quarter as increased salary and benefits costs and a decline in noninterest income could not offset strong growth in loans, deposits and wealth management assets.

With Beth Mooney in charge, KeyCorp has emerged as one of the industry's top regional banking companies while becoming a model for workplace diversity.

Despite years of diversity initiatives, senior management teams remain overwhelmingly male. Now a growing number of women are coming around to the idea that real change starts in the boardroom.

Rob Brough, the head of marketing at Zions, says the bank's Value Star program — launched more than a decade ago to recognize employees for putting in extra effort — encourages staff to pull for one another.

Many of the bank's policies bubbled up through meetings of the Employee Excellence Council, a group of roughly 50 volunteers — from tellers to senior vice presidents — that offers input on benefits, working conditions and anything else that comes to mind.

The thriving Colorado institution keeps its employees happy — and minimizes turnover — by offering one of the industry's most generous retirement packages.

Most banks encourage employees to be active with local charities, but the parent of First Tennessee Bank takes its support to a higher level by awarding cash grants to nonprofits at which its employees are board members.

On top of dealing with cyber threats and other potential dangers to banks, CROs are deeply involved these days in discussions over investing in new products and business lines.

Its credibility damaged by shoddy lending and questionable accounting, the Birmingham, Ala., company rebuilt its reputation by putting customers and communities first.

Proposed new rules from the CFPB could wind up forcing banks out of the small-dollar lending business, leaving cash-strapped consumers with fewer borrowing options.

Banks in Baltimore seem to have avoided the worst of the violence in the city's riots, though that's partly because they have few branches in some of the affected neighborhoods.

Digital upstarts are out to steal traditional banks' customers by taking the hassle out of everything from account opening to borrowing. It’s tough to compete with banks' resources and brand recognition, but these new mobile competitors are adamant that they can win on customer experience.