Corporate governance

The two megabanks continue to shrink their branch networks, with BofA planning to close 20 locations and Wells recently shuttering 15. Both banks are also opening new branches in certain markets.

Executives of the $405 billion-asset bank say that they have completed 40% of a cost-cutting strategy begun earlier this year.

Jane Fraser defended Citigroup's recently announced organizational overhaul and specific performance targets, saying the plan is different from prior restructurings because it's designed to fundamentally change how the company operates.

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank expects to save $325 million next year as it reduces its staff by 4%. Executives said the cuts are necessary because revenue has fallen amid a surge in interest rates and a decline in loan volumes.

The consulting giant's annual global banking review highlights a stark trend: Over a seven-year period, more than 70% of the net increase in financial assets ended up not on U.S. banks' balance sheets, but instead at insurance and pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, in private capital markets and elsewhere.

Tradeshift Holdings has dismissed its co-founder Christian Lanng due to "serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment" and "gross misconduct on multiple grounds," the company says. Lanng denies the allegations.

Activist investor Abbott Cooper, who has been locked in a battle with management at AmeriServ Financial for more than a year, plans to nominate former Amalgamated Financial head Keith Mestrich in a bid to end the impasse.

The North Carolina company is cutting its board of directors by more than a third, using a combination of retirements and early departures. The move means that a majority of board members will come from the predecessor company SunTrust Banks, which may give CEO Bill Rogers more leeway to make changes.

The former employee is accused of shuffling information to two friends.

A proposed settlement between the Philadelphia-based community bank and an activist investor group that has waged a nearly two-year battle for control also calls for overhauling the board of directors.

Peoples Financial Services has agreed to pay $129 million of stock for FNCB Bancorp. Peoples' CEO Craig Best would lead the combined company for a year after the merger closes, and then Gerard Champi, FNCB's current chief, would take over.

Thomas Nides, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and longtime Morgan Stanley executive, will take over the megabank's public affairs division as its work to fix regulatory concerns continues. He succeeds Bill Daley, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, who recently announced his retirement from Wells.

Cboe Global Markets says Edward Tilly has resigned following an investigation that determined he didn't disclose personal relationships with colleagues. The derivatives and securities exchange has appointed Fredric Tomczyk, a current member of Cboe's board of directors, to replace Tilly. 

As part of the changes, the Spanish bank is combining individual countries' retail and commercial banking businesses under a new global unit, which will be headed by Daniel Barriuso, and creating a new digital consumer bank area that will be led by Jose Luis de Mora.

Instead, the Canadian bank will try to ramp up its current strategy, which includes growth in commercial lending and technology upgrades, as well as streamline management. 

Revenue challenges are driving the Utah bank's plan to reduce expenses, according to CEO Harris Simmons. "I talk to our peers, and everybody's looking for ways to cut costs," he said.

Fraser has a plan to reduce the number of management layers at Citi, shrink its workforce, speed up decision-making and give herself more control of the bank's five core businesses. "It's going to make some of our people very uncomfortable," she said.

At least four of CEO Jane Fraser's senior deputies got new roles in the shakeup, which will result in a number of job cuts.

After taking incremental steps to bolster its wealth management business, the Rhode Island bank is preparing to roll out a broader strategy focused on high-net-worth clients.

The North Carolina bank, which has been facing pressure to curb spending, rolled out a plan that includes job cuts, the consolidation of businesses and lower technology spending. Analysts wonder whether it will soothe investor frustration over Truist's sagging stock price.