Dean Anason

Donald Trump was sworn in Friday, but banking industry executives have spent the last two months envisioning a vastly different political, economic and regulatory climate. The dominant question in coming months will be how realistic those expectations are.

KeyCorp has received the Federal Reserve Board's approval to buy First Niagara Financial Group. The $4.1 billion deal is expected to be completed on or about Aug. 1.

The Little Rock, Ark., bank got the final regulatory approval it needed to buy C&S and C1, but not before agreeing to address some community reinvestment concerns in the Atlanta market and elsewhere.

The private-banking prowess of newly acquired City National was the steadying influence Royal Bank of Canada needed amid global and domestic economic shocks in its latest quarter.

Bank of Botetourt in Buchanan, Va., founded in 1899, said Thursday it has opened a mortgage division to pursue unmet demand for home loans in southwestern Virginia.

Nine former officers and directors accused of hiding problems at Superior Bank in Birmingham, Ala., will pay more than $1 million in penalties as part of settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bank officials say they are ready for rising rates; disagree on how much the initial increase would help or hurt lending and the economy; and predict more rate increases next year.

A JPM Divestiture; Pivotal Moments at SEC, Fed

The moves disclosed Wednesday were broad, multifaceted and affected nine executives.

Six regional banks have reported their stress-test results under Dodd-Frank for the first time, projecting Tier 1 common equity ratios ranging from 8.04% to 11.4% after an economic shock. However, several also projected multimillion-dollar losses during the stressful period.

It's easy for banks to spin their wheels on local reinvestment, financial education and other efforts to help underserved communities. To make outreach programs successful, bank executives need to carefully vet nonprofit and other partners, listen to their employees on the front lines and reflect on their own reasons for getting into banking.

Citigroup said Tuesday that it plans to exit consumer businesses in 12 countries.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp in Philadelphia, which dates back to 1853, is the latest old-school mutual thrift to announce plans for a second-step conversion to a fully public stockholder company.

The news that JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon has curable throat cancer should remind all banks that medical issues involving executives are something many companies will have to face. Here are four things every bank should remember in planning for such events.

Ex-Im Fight Heats Up on Hill; Good and Bad in New Housing Data

Stifel Financial (SF) has agreed to buy a Legg Mason wealth management unit, the two companies announced Wednesday.

A Frosty Economy; AIG's Cuts; Banks' Lost Clout

Regional bank executives keep trying to deflect calls for more cost cutting as they seek new revenue sources, and one of them -- BB&T's Kelly King -- seems to be losing his patience with such demands.

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.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Wow, what a morning. Scan is still trying to decide whether today's confluence of events out of Washington and Wall Street is poetically just, ironic or just plain spooky. A flood of headlines centered on finalization of the Volcker Rule, a congressional budget deal and the fifth anniversary of Bernard Madoff's arrest. That's a big agenda, but, for brave readers and those who had to get their kids to school early, let's have at the most important matters: