Southern Bancorp in Little Rock, Arkansas, plans to put $250 million in equity capital it received from the Treasury Department to good use making mortgages and acquiring banks.

In comment letters to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concerning its proposed rule to allow consumers to share their banking data with third-party providers, banks worry about implementation costs while fintechs fear the rule will stymie innovation.

One of the smallest banks in the country hasn't consistently made a profit since 2007 and has been the subject of enforcement actions. The FDIC's public rebuke against it indicates a last-ditch effort to figure out a less messy solution than receivership.

Banks have a simple choice: Either invest in fraud controls to prepare for FedNow, or expect draconian supervisory measures that will increase friction and confuse customers.

A resilient economy and the potential for interest rate cuts could infuse further bullish sentiment into markets and bolster the shares of small lenders.

The North Carolina-based company said it expects to close about 4% of its branch network, or roughly 80 offices, by the end of the first quarter. The closures come amid Truist's $750 million cost-cutting initiative.

The top five banks have an average global full-time employee headcount of more than 213,000.

The Alabama-based bank, which reported $135 million in check fraud losses during a six-month period, says that it had changed the period of time it holds a deposit in an effort to become more customer-friendly. "We opened the door too wide, bad people came rushing in, and we didn't close the door timely enough," said CFO David Turner.

Bank investors hope they can party like it's 1995, when the U.S. economy stayed healthy even after aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes. But a few analysts are a bit more cautious over whether banks' loan books will hold up as well this time.

Banks' sales of insurance agencies for eye-popping multiples emerged as one 2023's notable trends. Though the bandwagon shows no sign of slowing, several prominent community banks appear to be holding on to their insurance operations.