Allissa Kline is a Buffalo, New York-based reporter who writes about national and regional banks and commercial and retail banking trends. She joined American Banker in 2020 and previously worked for more than a decade at Buffalo Business First, where she covered banking and finance, insurance and accounting. Kline started her journalism career at the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York. She graduated from Colgate University and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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The nation's largest bank, which acquired the remains of San Francisco-based First Republic following its failure this spring, has completed its plans to close 21 offices this year. But the consolidation effort is likely to continue.
September 22 -
The banking industry, which has a long history of sponsoring sporting events, is pouring more money into the live-music industry, according to a new report. Music-related events and properties make up 39% of the sector's sponsorship portfolio, up from 25% two years ago.
September 20 -
Carrie Tolstedt, scheduled to be sentenced Friday for her role in the company's phony-accounts scandal, has already paid for her crime and should receive three years probation, her attorneys argue in a sentencing memo. Prosecutors have recommended a year in prison.
September 14 -
Fraser has a plan to reduce the number of management layers at Citi, shrink its workforce, speed up decision-making and give herself more control of the bank's five core businesses. "It's going to make some of our people very uncomfortable," she said.
September 13 -
The North Carolina bank, which has been facing pressure to curb spending, rolled out a plan that includes job cuts, the consolidation of businesses and lower technology spending. Analysts wonder whether it will soothe investor frustration over Truist's sagging stock price.
September 11 -
Some analysts and investors want the North Carolina bank to make big changes to meet financial targets, which they say aren't being met more than four years after the BB&T-SunTrust merger. The critics will be closely watching a presentation by top Truist executives on Monday.
September 8 -
The Department of Justice is recommending a sentence of 12 months behind bars for Carrie Tolstedt, a former Wells executive who has pleaded guilty to obstructing a bank examination. That's harsher than the recommendation of the U.S. Probation Office.
September 5 -
The New York megabank is considering splitting its institutional clients group division into three parts following the upcoming departure of top executive Paco Ybarra, the Financial Times reported. The heads of the three segments would report directly to CEO Jane Fraser.
August 21 -
The racially targeted mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in 2022 has renewed conversations about whether banks have a duty to help segregated, impoverished communities that were shaped in part by discriminatory lending practices. What do banks owe the Black community, and what influence could they have?
July 31 -
Median noninterest income at midsize banks rose 7.2% in the second quarter, exceeding expectations. Dallas-based Texas Capital stood out from the pack, reporting a large uptick in fee income thanks largely to its new investment banking platform.
July 31 -
The Hicksville, New York, company says its deposit base is stable and poised for growth four months after its acquisition of the failed Signature Bank, some of whose depositors fled to larger banks. Private bankers — including new hires from another failed bank, First Republic — are trying to win back lost deposits.
July 27 -
The Dallas-based company, which saw $3.7 billion of deposits withdrawn after Silicon Valley Bank failed, now predicts average deposits will fall 14% to 15% compared with last year. However, the pace of outflow is slowing, say the bank's executives.
July 21 -
Executives of the regional bank say they are zeroing in on its most profitable business lines and moving away from one-off customer relationships that don't generate as much revenue.
July 20 -
Outgoing CEO James Gorman, who is set to become the investment bank's executive chairman, said he has no plans to ditch virtual annual meetings. He also argued that earnings should be reported twice each year, rather than quarterly.
July 18 -
If regulators push forward with plans to strengthen capital requirements for banks with more than $100 billion of assets, the nation's largest bank says, the cost of credit would rise and more consumers could seek out nontraditional lenders.
July 14 -
The Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action in higher education has opened the door to challenges of diversity initiatives in the financial services sector, legal experts say. Internship programs for minority students could face scrutiny, as could efforts to increase workforce diversity.
July 13 -
Dan Kimerling, whose former company Standard Treasury was acquired by Silicon Valley Bank in 2015, shares his thoughts on what led to the bank's collapse, whether there will be a chilling effect on tech lending and if there is a future for niche banks.
July 6 -
New legislation from Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., would impose various requirements and consequences on large banks that don't have a chief risk officer. It follows the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which left the job unfilled for eight months last year.
June 22 -
The pro football league plans to borrow up to $78 million over the next three years from 16 financial institutions, most of which are Black-owned or Black-led. It follows the lead of Major League Soccer, which announced a similar plan last year.
June 15 -
During last year's proxy season, 14 large and midsize banks reported granting special awards in an effort to retain C-level executives. So far this year, just four banks have done so, reflecting a gloomier economic outlook, consultants say.
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