When big banks kick off earnings season on Friday, industry observers will be paying close attention to loan growth, deposit growth, expense growth, credit quality and capital ratios. All five areas will offer clues about the industry's trajectory in 2024.

In a string of enforcement actions issued Thursday, the Federal Reserve barred one former banker from the industry for misappropriating confidential supervisory information and fined three others for misappropriating internal bank records.

Surging interest rates, recession threats and weaker stock valuations bogged down merger-and-acquisition activity last year. The 98 announced deals fell short of even 2020, when the pandemic briefly brought the economy to a standstill.

The country's largest credit union is learning the hard way that failure to assure inclusivity in lending practices is a recipe for both financial and reputational damage.

After being undercapitalized for decades, some minority-led banks finally got large capital infusions in the wake of George Floyd's murder. But higher interest rates have made it harder for them to gather the deposits they need to boost lending substantially.

Clark Street Capital said it developed a service to pair sellers with multiple potential buyers within just two weeks. It's meant to help small lenders close deals fast while still getting the benefits of a bidding process.

The top five banks and thrifts have nearly $96 billion in combined home equity loan portfolios as of September 30, 2023.

The KBW Bank Index posted a strong gain after a government report showed employers added 216,000 jobs in December. The labor market strength bodes well for lenders' credit quality but may delay highly anticipated interest rate cuts that would lower banks' funding costs.

In the news this week: A consumer group filed a complaint against Starbucks over its mobile app and reloadable gift cards, Apple Pay added a new payment tech firm, The Clearing House hired Amanda Stewart as its new marketing chief, and more.

Reading Cooperative Bank and Queensborough National Bank and Trust are among those that see value in being close to fintech startups.

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.