Chris Cumming

New York could soon start holding bank executives personally responsible for their institutions' anti-money-laundering controls, the state's top financial regulator said Wednesday.

A disappointing 2014 for HSBC has CEO Stuart Gulliver considering "extreme" changes at its U.S. bank and other struggling units, which he said are a drag on return on equity.

If you thought American Express' loss Thursday of a big antitrust case would help its rivals, think again. Visa, MasterCard, and even card-issuing institutions could be hurt by the race to lower merchant fees that the ruling will set off.

The big antitrust ruling against American Express could set off a price war that squeezes all payment card networks -- not just Amex -- as well as card-issuing banks.

If you thought American Express' loss Thursday of a big antitrust case would help its rivals, think again. Visa, MasterCard, and even card-issuing banks could be hurt by the race to lower merchant fees that the ruling will set off.

Two weeks after U.S. bank remittances to Somalia dried up, regulators and lawmakers are making only slow progress at preventing a potential humanitarian crisis.

Citigroup will commit $100 billion to help reduce the effects of climate change over the next 10 years as part of a new sustainability initiative.

HSBC has spent billions of dollars in compliance and legal costs, but the damaging scandals keep coming. Renewed attention on the problems at its Swiss private bank could fuel the debate about whether banks this size are too big to manage.

Calls for U.S. regulators to reform money-transmittal rules are growing after a California bank cut off remittances to Somalia.

A long decline in loan-loss reserves hit a wall in the fourth quarter, as loan growth forced companies to set more cash aside than in recent quarters. An end to reserve releases, combined with higher costs and lower margins, are putting pressure on bankers to boost revenue.

Jeffrey Brown, suddenly elevated to CEO of Ally Financial, will have to accelerate the auto lender's diversification plan started by his predecessor, Michael Carpenter. Brown will need to explore new sources of originations, funding and investments.

CertusBank in Greenville, S.C., lost nearly $70 million last year.

Cost-cutting efforts that once aided earnings hit a wall in the fourth quarter as noninterest expenses – particularly in compliance and tech – exceeded forecasts. Banks are still talking about expense control, but the results highlight the pressure to produce more revenue.

New York Community Bancorp wants Washington to raise the asset size for systemically important financial institutions, but in the meanwhile its asset sales to stay under the threshold helped to boost profits and its CEO is pursuing possible M&A deals.

Zions Bancorp. on Monday reported improvement in its net interest margin and noninterest revenue, along with progress in regards to the Volcker Rule and its funding mix. But at Zions, as at other banks, progress was overshadowed by concerns over falling oil prices.

Zions Bancorp earned $73.2 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $59 million in the same period of 2013, when it recorded a large Volcker Rule-related charge on debt investments.

Two Pennsylvania banks recently called off a mutual conversion/merger after the FDIC rejected it on policy grounds. The decision – and lack of guidance from the FDIC – could spell trouble for other banks with similar plans.

A small Georgia lender has reached a deal to avoid a threatened involuntary bankruptcy, though the resolution is likely to leave key legal questions on trust-preferred debt and bankruptcy unresolved.

BB&T and KeyCorp's quarterly results showed how more diversified regional banks can turn to their insurance sales, investment banking and other fee generators for backup until interest rates improve. Whereas the smaller Huntington Bancshares needed strong loan growth in a quarter (and year) when fees fell.

KeyCorp in Cleveland beat earnings forecasts on the strength of increased fee income.