Corporate governance

Branches across the country have closed temporarily, or switched to drive-thru service, as infections and quarantine rules have forced many bank workers to stay home.

A dispersed workforce presents added cybersecurity challenges resulting from employees accessing their organization’s networks through a home connection. This new reality reinforces the need for financial institutions to transform their digital infrastructure to guard against breaches.

The central bank also signed off on Webster Financial’s acquisition of Sterling Bancorp and WSFS Financial’s purchase of Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. The moves come amid a political fight over the bank merger approval process.

Kabbage and other firms are extending credit to fund higher salaries at the small merchants that are struggling to hire new employees.

FNB Bank in the hard-hit community of Mayfield lost its headquarters during the catastrophic storms. It and other financial institutions are aiding local residents who are now taking stock of the damage.

Daniel Pinto was awarded 750,000 options in the form of stock-appreciation rights ahead of his promotion next month to sole president of the company.

Conservative groups have sued the Securities and Exchange Commission and the state of California to overturn rules requiring banks and other companies to add more women and minorities as directors. Experts say the legal challenges are unlikely to change how corporations think about boardroom diversity.

A clash among FDIC board members has intensified a debate about whether regulators should take a tougher look at large M&A deals. House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters added to the frenzy by calling for a moratorium on approving big acquisitions.

For the third time since the start of the pandemic, the Richmond, Virginia, company will close branches to contain costs in what it calls a “challenging macroeconomic environment.”

The Georgia bank estimates that it will save $12 million annually by shutting down 40 branches.

In a semiannual report on trouble spots in the banking sector, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency raised concerns that banks are taking on too much risk in pursuit of earnings growth.

Coming out of the pandemic, traditional banks will have just two years to update their business models or they risk falling behind more innovative peers and aggressive upstarts, the consulting giant warns in a new report.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is having a harder time keeping costs in check as inflation picks up and the lender invests in its domestic consumer franchise.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. might need to borrow money from the Treasury Department to manage the orderly liquidation of a systemically important bank. But if Treasury can’t legally issue more debt, that money may not be available.

Locality Bank in Fort Lauderdale and Gulf Coast Business Bank in Fort Myers would be the seventh and eighth banks to open in Florida since 2017 — the most of any state in that span. Organizers relish the chance to start from scratch, but some observers lament the drop-off in de novos from the pre-crisis era.

Deutsche Bank proposed Alexander Wynaendts as its next chairman of the supervisory board, tapping the former insurance executive to guide Germany’s largest lender as it emerges from a decade of crisis.

The retired Laurence Bensignor is prohibited from working for “any insured depository institution or any holding company of an insured depository institution” because of his failure to disclose key information about an alleged insider-loan scheme, the Federal Reserve says.

KeyCorp, Zions and Capital One are among the companies making big moves in a sector that is growing fast and viewed as recession-proof.

Even as the pandemic has hastened adoption of digital banking, industry officials say branches remain vital points of contact with consumers.

The Florida bank's agreement with the core provider FIS is expected to reduce annual expenses by $12 million. Analysts expect more banks to make similar moves.