Kristin Broughton

Santander Consumer USA Holdings in Dallas has named Ismail "Izzy" Dawood as chief financial officer.

The small bank was the only institution to bid on a contract to process cash payments to the Illinois Department of Revenue. Executives are eager to collect fees without feeling compelled to make loans or hold deposits for the controversial industry.

The auto lender, a unit of the Spanish banking giant Banco Santander, repeatedly reassured investors that it has a handle on the subprime business.

Commercial and retail banking customers in some cases are being marginalized from the financial system, making de-risking a pressing social-policy issue, a Bank of America official said at a Clearing House conference.

The trade group is calling for increased scrutiny of tech companies that are increasingly encroaching on banks' turf, but Georgia banker Dan Blanton says banks also need to be thinking about ways to team up with these new players in payments and lending — or figuring out how to beat them at their own game.

Bank Leumi's conservatism helped it stay profitable during the financial crisis. The bank, a unit of Leumi Group in Israel, is ready to get more aggressive in areas such as technology lending.

For years, UMB Financial rode fee-income gains from the expansion of its asset management unit to some strong quarters. But the unit's production has waned lately forcing the company to rethink its expense base and management structure.

An interbank loan market for community and regional banks, and backed by the Chicago Board Options Exchange, plans to open for business next month.

The CFPB is evaluating whether it should take legal action against the Minnesota company for how it handles overdraft protection. The move comes as TCF takes steps to become less dependent on services charges for fee revenue.

Beth Mooney at Key and Joseph Ficalora at New York Community Bancorp recently upset shareholders with big acquisitions. Industry observers believe investors should slowly warm up to deals as a strategic alternative to generous dividends and share buybacks.

TCF Financial faces a potential lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the way the Wayzata, Minn., company charges overdraft fees.

The company recently created a collateralized-debt obligation backed by bank debt, bringing to mind the types of structured investments that plagued smaller banks a few years ago. This time, StoneCastle will hold all the credit risk, instead of selling it off to banks. The CDOs are backed by relatively straightforward sub debt rather than hybrid securities.

The auto lender has changed the way it calculates its closely-watched provision for credit losses, a move that added to third-quarter profits and raised questions about the transparency of its loan book.

Santander Consumer USA Holdings plans to exit personal lending and focus primarily on its auto-finance business.

Old National is taking advantage of low interest rates by buying more than a dozen branches in solid real estate markets. An expected accounting rule change could encourage more banks to do the same.

TCF Financial in Wayzata, Minn., has hired R. Patricia Kelly as its managing director of commercial banking. Kelly joins the $20 billion-asset company from Chicago Corp., where she oversaw the investment bank's financial institutions and real estate units.

Auto-lending profits helped make the quarter for Huntington Bancshares and TCF Financial, but their CEOs ended up on the hot seat, as they reported results a day after the U.S. comptroller of the currency issued another warning about declining credit quality in the market.

Low interest rates continue to constrain growth at TCF Financial in Wayzata, Minn.

Craig Dahl has played a key role transforming the Minnesota company from a local lender driven by fees to one with national lending platforms. He discusses those moves, and the future of banking, in a wide-ranging interview.

It was a celebration more than anything else, but the honorees at American Banker's annual Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance dinner Thursday had plenty to say on themes that are sure to resonate.