Alan Kline

Executives at a number of midsize institutions were excited about the prospects of booking more commercial loans in 2014.

The economy is showing signs of life. But executives at PNC, Huntington and BB&T remain cautious about investing in new businesses, products or markets that raise expenses or hurt efficiency ratios.

Huntington Bancshares' (HBAN) fourth-quarter profits fell 6% from the same quarter in 2012, to $158 million, due largely to a sharp decline in mortgage banking income.

Listen to any bank earnings call these days and odds are that, at some point, executives will discuss how they are addressing the persistent lack of revenue growth by simultaneously cutting expenses and investing in new business lines.

More and more banks are ramping up in asset-based lending, even as some fret about increased regulatory scrutiny. In a Q&A, the head of the industry's trade group discusses the latest trends, what's keeping his members up nights and what to look for in the year ahead.

More than 10 months after agreeing to pay a $10 million penalty to its regulator, TCF Financial (TCB) has officially been released from an enforcement order related to its monitoring of suspicious transactions.

When ex-Republic Bank of New York executives Joseph DePaolo and John Tamberlane were sketching out their business plan for what would become Signature Bank, they really had no intention of starting a bank at all.

Cash America agrees to pay $19 million to settle charges that it illegally robo-signed documents, overcharged members of the military, and stymied a CFPB examination by destroying and withholding information.

Their approaches differ, but one thing many bankers agree on is that growth depends largely on how well they cross-sell wealth management products to borrowers and depositors.

Shares of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings plunged Thursday after the loan servicing firm missed earnings estimates by a wide margin and announced plans to sell its wholesale mortgage operation.

Some banks have been successful in serving a client base that ranges from mom-and-pop operations to multinational conglomerates, but the most profitable and efficient ones tend to have more targeted strategies, according to a new report from McKinsey & Co.

Refer credit-challenged mom-and-pops to nonbank lenders and eventually those small businesses will be viable enough to qualify for bank loans, industry experts say.

PNC, U.S. Bancorp and KeyCorp all reported loan growth of at least 5% in the third quarter as they focused heavily on strengthening customer relationships and reaped the benefits of expansion into new markets or business lines. Still, revenue and other challenges remain.

The banking regulators will remain open in the event of a government shutdown, but the ongoing fiscal battle in Congress could still have significant implications for the financial services industry.

The CEO of HSBC USA says that stricter regulation is crucial to strengthening the banking system and winning back customers' trust, but she remains frustrated by the glacial pace of the rulemaking.

With every action now being scrutinized in real time, banks don't necessarily need guidelines and mandates to know if they are doing right by customers and shareholders, Fifth Third CEO Kevin Kabat says at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium.

TD Bank is content with its branch network along the East Coast and, for now, is not interested in deals that would take it into new markets, according to its chief financial officer.

KeyCorp wasn't looking to make history when it named a female CEO in 2011. It wanted a stronger leader and a good fit for the company. Based on what Beth Mooney has accomplished so far, she's delivering on all fronts.

Failures, mergers and charter consolidations have all played a role in the latest decline, but what's really driving down the numbers is the lack of de novos.

RBS Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., has become the latest banking company to use plain language to describe its checking account policies and procedures.