Strong consumer spending and cross-border activity drove an 8% increase in Visa's total payments volume during the first quarter of the year, although Asia's economic recovery is taking longer than expected.

The Connecticut bank —a regional traditionally regarded as a cautious lender — said nonperforming loans and leases rose 53% year-over-year. The uptick was in mostly the commercial-and-industrial loan space, although there was one nonperforming commercial real estate loan, executives said.

The two regional banks are anticipating that borrower demand will increase in the back half of the year. High interest rates and economic uncertainty have been muting the appetite for borrowing.

Brendon Falconer, finance chief of the Indiana company since 2019, faces felony child molestation charges. But CEO James Ryan says management is focused on the CapStar integration and organic growth.

After several quarters of slumping investment banking and trading fees, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company reported a big uptick from that division, which helped compensate for a large decline in net interest income.

At a time of mild or nonexistent loan growth, middle-market borrowers in the Lone Star State are providing a boost to Fifth Third Bancorp and Huntington Bancshares.

The Alabama regional lender says it expects expenses to taper off this year and anticipates challenged loans will gradually rise to historically average levels.

Powered by younger, affluent cardholders, American Express saw a 6% increase in billed business during the first quarter, while weak growth still plagues its small-business segment.

The Cleveland-based bank is projecting steady growth in net interest income even as credit losses remain manageable. But Chairman and CEO Chris Gorman also said that he thinks a recession is likely.

The first-quarter increase involved commercial real estate loans, including some problematic multifamily loans and an office credit, but none of the criticized loans were to consumers, officials at the Dallas company say. Further CRE deterioration is anticipated.