Commercial lending

Valley National Bank and Dime Community Bancshares expect a better balance of deposit costs to help boost their net interest margins in 2025.

The case against Yellowstone Capital, which state officials alleged deceived small-business borrowers, has brought attention to the industry.

The Dallas-based company expects average loan growth to be flat to up 1% from 2024, driven by the ongoing payoffs of commercial real estate loans, executives said.

The Alabama-based regional bank reported stronger earnings on a bump in capital markets fee revenue and lower expenses, but its total loans declined and its charge-offs increased. It expects only modest loan growth this year.

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday approved UMB Financial's pending $2 billion acquisition of Heartland Financial.

The action rids the Montana bank of a $62.8 million loan that's long been on its watch list. It comes as First Interstate's new CEO looks to put his own stamp on the bank.

Regulatory shifts and loan growth are some of the hot-button topics banks will seek to address as they start sharing their fourth-quarter reports next week.

The top five banks with the largest portfolios of home equity loans had more than $94 million in loans combined for the third quarter of last year.

Heightened expectations for increased economic activity could boost loan demand after a soft 2024.

The top five banks with the largest portfolios of commercial and industrial loans had more than $1.03 billion when combined.