Laura Alix

Comerica, Regions and KeyCorp executives say their companies will proceed with caution despite the green light from the Federal Reserve to buy back stock in case they have to cover a surge in loan growth as the economy recovers.

The Dallas company has given Summer Faussette, an external affairs executive, the additional role of national African American business development manager, with a special focus on networking with nonprofit organizations.

MUFG Union Bank is offering a new deposit product to commercial clients who want to see their cash reserves used to help finance sustainable projects, such as renewable energy or green transportation.

The bank’s new holding company, Amalgamated Financial Group, is the first publicly traded financial services company to become a public benefit corporation. It says the legal designation will help officers and directors balance the interests of shareholders and the public.

Going green takes time, so lenders need to start revamping entire business relationships now, according to one sustainability-focused nonprofit. That process could include setting environmental goals for fossil-fuels companies and other customers that are conditions for continuing to finance them.

Geneviève Piché, who has worked in investment banking at the company for 20 years, will be in charge of helping corporate clients make environmentally and socially responsible investments.

The five-year pledge, tied to the company's pending acquisition of CIT Group, earmarks nearly $6 billion for small-business lending and $3.2 billion for affordable housing.

The Boston-based bank said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave it the highest grade possible on its most recent Community Reinvestment Act examination. Santander had received a “needs to improve” grade in 2017 and a “satisfactory” rating in 2018.

Unsecured personal lending has fallen as many consumers have stashed away cash and paid down credit card balances during the pandemic. The trend probably won’t reverse course anytime soon.

Comerica, Regions and Frost Bank closed hundreds of branches statewide while others ran them at reduced capacity or on power generators to help ease the strain on the state’s overwhelmed power grid.

Still under fire for financing oil-and-gas exploration, banks are now being criticized for bankrolling producers of the single-use bottles and wrappers that are piling up in landfills and waterways. How will they respond to the mounting pressure from environmentalists?

Marcus Martin will be responsible for expanding sustainable investing options for the Minneapolis company's corporate and commercial customers.

In his new book, the Princeton lecturer and financier JC de Swaan contemplates what it means to be virtuous in a financial system that prioritizes profits and shareholder returns.

The former head of U.S. corporate banking for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Cronin will succeed Stephen Cummings as CEO of the New York-based MUFG Union Bank and its holding company, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp.

The department of financial services will grant credit under the state's community reinvestment law to New York-chartered banks and credit unions that finance projects aimed at helping low-income communities better adapt to a warming world.

The enforcement action, which concerned deficiencies in the auto lender’s compliance risk management program, was the last remaining regulatory matter Santander had to resolve.

The San Antonio-based company has promoted Paul Vincent to president of its banking unit. Neeraj Singh, previously chief risk officer for Citi’s U.S. consumer bank, has joined the parent company as chief risk officer.

Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Northern Trust have even more reason to slash costs than commercial banks because their options to boost revenue are more limited. Problem is, they also have fewer cost-cutting options.

Ellison-Taylor, an expert in technology and finance and former chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is the second Black woman and fourth person of color on the Minneapolis bank's board.

The Georgia company increased its target for annual expense cuts and new revenue to $175 million from $100 million. But executives warned that low interest rates and weaker mortgage volume, along with a need to invest in technology, will delay some of the bottom-line benefits.