Commercial lending

The regional bank announced a leadership shakeup on Wednesday, capping a tumultuous week in which shareholders became spooked about its exposure to the commercial real estate sector.

In a bid for scale and diversification, Illinois-based Empeople Credit Union said it would expand in Wisconsin with the planned acquisition of TSB Bank.

Former Flagstar CEO Alessandro DiNello, who had been New York Community's nonexecutive chairman, was named executive chairman after the Long Island bank's stock price fell by more than 59% in a week. New York Community also issued updates on both its deposit situation and its search for a new chief risk officer.

A day after the regional bank's stock tumbled on tough fourth-quarter results and some austerity moves, observers debated whether management just needs time to build enough capital to catch up with growth or if it is still too overexposed in multifamily lending.

The parent company of Flagstar Bank surprised investors by slashing its dividend, charging off two large real-estate loans and preparing for more trouble in the office and multifamily sectors.

Experts predict the number of small businesses turning to an employee-ownership model will accelerate in the coming years. The would mean opportunities for banks that advise on such transitions.

Cullen/Frost in Texas, BankUnited in Florida and Bank OZK in Arkansas are among the banks that have, at least for now, allayed investors' fears about their exposure to the CRE sector.

Ten months after the Raleigh, North Carolina, company acquired a large chunk of Silicon Valley Bank, it says it is seeing good progress in keeping and winning back the latter's former customers. But the ongoing slowdown in private equity and venture capital activity will challenge the unit's growth.

The Oklahoma-based regional bank expects 6%-7% loan growth in the year ahead. Executives are also projecting that net interest income will start to improve after the metric hits a trough early this year.

The Salt Lake City bank says that it doesn't expect major losses, even though its problem loans grew at the end of 2023.