Laura Alix

The election of Democrat Phil Murphy as New Jersey's next governor is being hailed as a victory for advocates of state-owned banks. But challenges remain — namely, stubborn opposition from mainstream banks.

While the Bank of America chief says he is encouraged by progress on tax reform, he cautioned that it remains politically and fiscally tough to accomplish, and that the wrong moves on immigration could offset some of the gains from tax cuts.

The San Francisco-based lender still posted losses in its portfolio, although those declined considerably from the year-ago period.

With marijuana sales set to become legal in California soon, a working group there says that a state-backed financial institution should be among the measures weighed to address the lack of banking services available to the pot industry.

Rather than pull up stakes and leave two low-income Mississippi towns at the mercy of payday lenders, Regions Bank donated the branches to a local credit union and kicked in another $500,000 for operating costs.

Top banking executives called the Republican tax plan an important first step toward tax reform and economic stimulus, but questions immediately arose about whether trade-offs and complexities in the bill would undercut it.

Home equity lines could double over the next six years. Some banks are actively pursuing the consumer credit opportunity, whereas many still feel stung by the housing crisis, unimpressed by home equity’s comeback so far or fearful of nonbank competition and fraud.

The Alabama bank's provision for loan losses rose 59%, but it still reported an 8% increase in 3Q profits thanks to stronger margins and fee income.

That loan growth helped boost the San Antonio bank's profit by 16.5% year over year.

BOK Financial benefited from rising interest rates in the third quarter even as it reported declines in fee income and commercial real estate loan balances.