Laura Alix

In a newly created role, Tony Sciarrino will oversee middle-market bankers in more than a dozen offices across California.

BBVA Compass said on Wednesday that it was partnering with the broker-dealer Brean Capital to offer a variety of capital and investment banking services for community banks and correspondent banks.

The number of consumers being pursued by debt-collection agencies fell dramatically in the past year, but it's as much technicality as achievement, and bankers need to keep that in mind when reviewing the credit scores of millions of Americans.

Good credit analysts are in short supply, says David Nicholson, a senior VP of commercial lending at a community bank. But fair warning for job seekers: Only dogged questioners who can think critically need apply, because vetting business borrowers is as much art as science.

Good old-fashioned commercial credit analysts are a dying breed, David Nicholson says. Community banks need them to stay competitive in C&I, but training courses have been cut back. So he’s on a mission to teach as many students as he can.

JPMorgan Chase, SunTrust and PNC are pressuring outside counsel to get more women and minority lawyers to represent them in court even at the risk of alienating the big, traditional law firms that they have done business with for years.

Depending on the asset class, about 11%-18% of earnings per share came from tax savings. The looming question is how do they top themselves in 2019 when tax rates don’t change like they did this year.

The San Antonio company also kept a lid on expenses in the second quarter, further boosting its bottom line.

In addition to leading the company’s national business banking efforts, Peter Sefzik will also oversee small-business banking. Brian Foley, the chief credit officer for the Texas market, will succeed him as market president.

In a 2015 enforcement action, the San Francisco Fed said it had identified problems with the Pasadena, Calif., bank’s BSA and anti-money-laundering compliance programs.