The Rosemont, Illinois-based bank said its longtime CEO Ed Wehmer will retire from the post in May and become executive chairman. Timothy Crane, who joined Wintrust in 2008 and became its president in 2020, will take over the top job.

North Carolina-based First Citizens blamed a rise in problem credit on certain office loans that it acquired in the CIT Group merger. Connecticut-based Webster also expressed caution about the segment, which has been impacted by remote work policies.

With the $7.5 billion acquisition, the Minneapolis bank bolstered its customer base in the nation's most populous state by more than 1 million. Earnings accretion from the combination could offset slower loan growth this year.

The loan-growth projections are for Columbia Banking System itself, before the Tacoma, Washington, bank officially merges with Umpqua Holdings. The $5 billion deal is scheduled to close Feb. 28.

The company settled with the Federal Reserve after self-reporting that it had disbursed $1.1 million in wrongfully obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Six Wall Street banks are being pressed by a group of shareholders to move faster on reducing their financing of fossil fuels to meet global climate goals.

Unrelenting pressure to improve efficiency could keep bank merger activity steady or even accelerate it despite several economic and regulatory factors except for one — credit quality, say two veteran Piper Sandler dealmakers.