Huntington Bancshares and U.S. Bancorp also said in recent days that they are eliminating jobs to reduce overhead and improve profits. With net interest margins shrinking and branch traffic continuing to decline, expect more banks to follow suit, analysts say.

Executives say they are passing on more loans as bank and nonbank competitors cut rates and forgo traditional safeguards.

It has already been modifying more problem loans and investing in efforts to recover charged-off loans, and now the credit card lender is ready to tighten underwriting in case the economy weakens.

The company says the upgrade will support future digital investments. It also said Tuesday that third-quarter profits climbed 8% but reported a sharp increase in criticized business loans.

Amid concern that an economic downturn is approaching, Greg Carmichael said that banks need to focus on credit quality and not worry about expanding their balance sheets.

The Columbus, Ga., company had been counting on increased volume to offset a squeeze in net interest margins.

Ellen Alemany said that CIT's deal for Mutual of Omaha Bank will immediately lower the bank's deposit funding by 20 basis points. She also reiterated that the acquisition would make CIT more attractive to potential buyers.

Declining interest rates took a toll on its profit margin, but the Salt Lake City company still beat earnings expectations in the third quarter.

Santander Consumer is planning to attract online deposits via a national platform that could rival Goldman Sachs’s Marcus; HSBC is now in retrenchment mode after aiming for growth.

Count Citizens Financial’s Bruce Van Saun among those who think interest rate cuts could halt by mid-2020. The key, he says, is to focus on delivering services customers are willing to pay fees for and to skillfully reprice deposits until then.

Because such a high number of new cardholders were paying fees for premium cards, Amex is earning subscription-like recurring revenue.

The big five banks had divergent results; San Francisco Fed publishes 18 papers on the dangers posed to businesses and communities by climate change.

Commercial lending provided a boost for some regional banks in the third quarter, but further rate cuts and a slowing economy could challenge future growth.

The banking industry will continue its fight against the credit-loss rule; the bank posted gains in consumer, wealth management and commercial lending.

The Pittsburgh company’s “branch lite” approach to retail and middle-market banking in new markets will break even sooner than expected and has had a noticeable impact on loans and deposits.

The Minneapolis company attributed the uptick to new tech tools, additional loan officers and other process improvements — not to mention the refi boom fueled by lower rates. It’s a formula other banks are expected to copy.

The Dallas company also warned of a decline in net interest income this quarter due to the anticipated impact of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts on loan yields.

The Minneapolis bank says recent investments in its retail operation contributed to strong improvement in home lending and mortgage banking fees.

Net interest income rose just 1%, but the bank rode a surge in advisory and other fees to beat profit estimates.

Third quarter profits at JPM, Wells Fargo and Citigroup got a boost from consumer banking; the company tells Fed it will remain a passive investor.