After a year marred by the biggest US bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis, the nation's largest lender is on familiar footing — scooping up a rival, reeling in its clients and minting record profits along the way.

Funding pressures moderated in recent months, but loan charge-offs climbed. With festering concerns about a vulnerable economy, the potential for elevated credits costs could loom large over the upcoming bank earnings season.

The Michigan City company, part of a growing list of banks announcing similar overhauls, aims to sell nearly $400 million of securities and reinvest the proceeds in higher-yielding loans.

The world's largest credit union reported a 5% increase in total loans in the third quarter while lending at the largest banks was almost stagnant. However, the Vienna, Virginia, institution's charge-offs also jumped significantly.

Top industry executives said this week that price increases are abating, even if they haven't yet fully abated. Their remarks reflect increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady — or perhaps even cut them — in the first half of 2024.

The North Carolina-based bank is considering the idea of selling a portion of its securities portfolio as a way to build capital, CEO Bill Rogers said Tuesday. At the end of the third quarter, Truist's securities were worth about 20% less than what the company paid for them.

The Toronto-based company is now forecasting more than $800 million USD in annual cost savings as a result of its Bank of the West acquisition in February. That's up nearly 20% from an earlier projection.

Expenses at Canada's second-biggest bank are higher than they should be, and the layoffs are one part of a plan to control costs going forward, executives say. Other Canadian banks including CIBC, Scotiabank and BMO have also shed workers this year.

Los Angeles-based City National Bank recorded a $247 million loss during a tumultuous final quarter of its fiscal year. But executives at the bank's Canadian parent company say they expect a return to profitability in the first quarter.

The Canadian bank reported a 70% decline in profits at its U.S. commercial banking and wealth management unit in the most recent quarter and boosted reserves amid distress in the commercial real estate market.