Old National in Evansville, Ind., reported higher quarterly profit due to securities gains and loan growth tied to its purchase of Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin.

Changes in consumer behavior – including a growing distrust of financial advisers – are driving the rise of robo advisers, says Gauthier Vincent, a consultant with Deloitte.

While some institutions find it sensible to appoint chief operating officers to assist the CEO or as part of a succession plan, many others increasingly choose to go without a COO.

Monona State Bank in Wisconsin has agreed to buy MBC Bankshares in Middleton, Wis.

As chief operating officers see their roles altered through industry consolidation, they are also taking the lead of implementing banks' technological and strategic overhauls.

On top of running a bank’s day-to-day operations, chief operating officers particularly at smaller banks play the additional role of CEO-in-waiting.

Banco do Brasil, the largest bank by assets in South America, wants to make more of a name for itself in the United States. It expects a new online banking platform to help draw mainstream consumers, and says an expansion from South Florida into the Northeast is likely.

In an industry of more and more specialists, the chief operating officer is a jack-of-all-trades. But the title has different meanings for different banks. Some COOs help craft strategy, others just implement strategy. Some are CEOs-in-waiting, others stay in the background. We asked COOs about their role, M&A's effects on job security, and how they interact with CEOs.

In June, SourceMedia Research — an affiliate of American Banker — conducted a survey of 52 chief operating officers and other operations executives on a range of topics, including COOs' top priorities and what they think will be their future role. The data suggests COOs are concerned with regulatory trends and security threats and view themselves as change agents. Many aspire to one day become a CEO. Here are some data snapshots.

The private equity firm GTCR is interested in fintech companies looking to disrupt the status quo, so long as they have proved themselves and are paired with managers who have a long track record of success.

Provident Financial Services in Iselin, N.J., reported relatively flat quarterly results as lower fees offset loan growth.

Carver Bancorp in New York is dealing with a new set of challenges just months after being released from a longstanding enforcement order. The company’s woes highlight the challenges for banks with narrowly constrained business models.

The popular German digital startup Fidor Bank has agreed to be acquired by Groupe BPCE, the second-largest French bank.

Columbia Banking System in Tacoma, Wash., reported higher quarterly profits that reflected increased lending.

CCB, the parent of the $1.3 billion-asset Country Club Bank, recently announced that it had absorbed Capital Corp. in Lenexa, Kan. CCB did not disclose the price.

TFS Financial in Cleveland posted a double-digit profit increase in the quarter that ended June 30 thanks to a combination of improved credit quality and lower expenses.

Pokémon Go has taken the U.S. by storm, to put it mildly. For an app that was released very recently, it already has more users than Twitter and is beating Facebook on daily engagement.

The Federal Housing Administration is promoting a particular kind of financing for residential energy retrofits that another regulator staunchly opposes. Mortgage lenders and investors have qualms, too, about the impact on their standing in collateral claims.

Regulators' recent warnings on emerging risks with commercial real estate indicate banks have reverted to CRE practices that got them in hot water once before.

Stonegate Bank in Pompano Beach, Fla., could be getting close to announcing another acquisition.