Energy industry

Goldman Sachs pledged in late 2019 to stop financing projects in coal and Arctic oil exploration. Activist groups and Democratic senators say other large institutions should do the same given the economic and environmental risks from climate change.

Activist investors say the lender's words on combating climate change have not matched its actions. But the company argues that requests to put climate resolutions to a shareholder vote amounts to micromanagement.

The timing couldn’t be worse for ag and energy lenders as well as global banks, which were all counting on the Chinese market to help bolster commercial lending and fee income.

Certain loan segments are showing signs of deterioration, but consumer lending and digital banking are bright spots. Meanwhile, bankers are eyeing opportunities to improve efficiency, add scale and take advantage of M&A disruption. Here's what to expect from smaller regionals in the year ahead.

The Dallas bank’s troubled energy loans reached a nearly two-year high as crude prices plummeted.

While his focus is on organic growth in Texas and California, Curt Farmer says he would consider a deal in those states if the right one comes along.

With loan volumes slowing across the industry, some say a focus on loans for renewable energy could be one way for credit unions to pick up some of the slack.

If the no-premium agreement announced by First Horizon and Iberiabank this week is a sign that sellers’ asking prices will come down, then Regions might reconsider its anti-M&A stance, a company executive said.

The Dallas company inherited the loan relationship from a bank it bought in 2017.

The rise in prices caused by the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil installations should help banks recoup some losses from the 2016 downturn. Harder to gauge is the impact the price volatility will have on U.S. energy production and, in turn, loan demand.

Nandita Bakhshi, CEO of Bank of the West, has pushed the bank's environmental commitments further, including $1 billion in clean energy financing over the next five years.

The Cincinnati bank recently expanded its renewable energy banking business to include investment banking services. Its ambitious goals demonstrate the sector’s growing appeal to regional and community banks.

The Texas bank said it was setting aside higher provisions for credit losses as private investments are drying up in a volatile oil and gas market.

A sharp disagreement between foreign and U.S. regulators is emerging on how far banking supervisors should go in asking financial institutions to stress test their loan and investment portfolios for any risks associated with climate change.

The Salt Lake City bank saw growth across all lending categories and an improvement in credit quality. It also said it has finished the second of three stages in its multiyear conversion to new core-banking technology.

The U.S. territory has some of the nation’s highest electricity prices, but a new law spurred by Puerto Rico’s cooperativas could be a game changer for the island.

At least five banks have warned about the potential loss of tax benefits if it is proven that DC Solar operated an investor scheme.

The bank gained $45 million in PACE financings, which let homeowners pay back the costs of efficiency projects over time.

James McLemore, one of our community bankers to watch in 2019, has more energy loans to purge and must exit the Small Business Lending fund and a BSA-related enforcement action.

Banks can handle the energy-linked loans they've extended — as long as oil prices don't drop much below $50 per barrel, analysts are saying.