Laura Alix

Big banks have plans to open hundreds of branches in new markets to add deposits, but smaller regionals have largely sought to hold the line on costs. Cullen/Frost Bankers' decision to double its branch count in Houston may be a sign that midsize banks are rethinking their retail strategy.

The Minneapolis company said in an email to American Banker that it would reduce its headcount by approximately 1%, or about 740 positions, across the company.

The Florida bank set aside much less money to cover soured medallion loans in the third quarter, and total loans rose more than 7%.

The pressure is on for banks to lean more heavily on capital markets, wealth management and other nonmortgage sources of fee income. That could get tougher in upcoming quarters.

Though consumer lending and C&I lending improved at the Cincinnati company, its corporate and mortgage banking revenues fell in the third quarter. Last year Fifth Third also posted a one-time gain of $1B associated with its sale of shares in Vantiv, complicating the comparison.

The Salt Lake City bank said consumer loans rose 7% from a year earlier. That was one of its several quarterly highlights.

Better web access, paid for by banks, could go a long way toward moving the unbanked into the mainstream. It was one of many ideas batted around at a recent a conference on the role fintech can play in promoting financial inclusion.

The $22.9 billion-asset TCF also highlighted improvements in credit quality in the third quarter as it continued to exit the auto finance business.

Strong net interest income and other factors made up for a drop in investment banking and other noninterest income at the Atlanta bank, which reported double-digit earnings growth.

A shifting C&I landscape, heated competition for deposits and red flags in consumer lending also took center stage in often testy exchanges between bankers and analysts on quarterly earnings calls.