Consumer banking

Chief Executive Andy Cecere is among the defendants in a shareholder lawsuit that alleges that top officials at the Minneapolis bank profited from the concealment of employee misconduct. A U.S. Bancorp spokesperson denied the allegations.

In his new book, "The Song of Significance," Seth Godin, a business management author, dives into how executives can rethink being profit driven and help create meaning in the work for employees.

"Smart" contracts enable the Chicago-based trust bank to carry out deals without intermediaries, while archiving details on transactions that can be useful later. Experts say other banks could follow despite the complexities of cutting-edge technology and the risk of being hacked.

The company is rolling out a special-purpose credit program to help address what it describes as "the biggest barriers to achieving homeownership." Such programs are gaining popularity among banks.

Citizens Bank of Edmond in Oklahoma, in conjunction with the digital-banking platform Narmi, recently launched an account-opening process that occurs completely online. The project, completed in less than three months, could be a model for community banks that want to innovate but fear being a low priority for vendors.

The deal with private equity firm KKR follows an earlier announced sale of $1.3 billion in medical office loans. The Columbus, Georgia-based company has said it's "proactively optimizing the balance sheet" to position itself for long-term growth.

The real threat is from undercapitalized banks, and regulators must require large banks to have enough capital to eliminate that threat.