Finance

Executives at the Alabama bank anticipated that some corporate deposits would start to leave during the first quarter as interest rates rose. Instead, deposits grew to a record $138.7 billion.

The Wisconsin company is the latest bank to plan cutbacks in the fees. Its fee income is projected to fall by about 2% from its level last quarter.

A sell-off of technology stocks this year has helped dissuade firms from going public. But Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company, which counts many tech firms among its clients, says the pullback hasn’t spread to smaller startups and the venture-capital funds that finance them.

Powered by a surge of bookings in March, travel and entertainment card spending at American Express rose 121% in the first quarter. The company also added 3 million accounts.

The Columbus, Ohio, bank, which already makes more loans than any other lender in the Small Business Administration's flagship program, is testing a plan to offer them outside of its Midwestern footprint.

Last year, the Cleveland bank stopped providing cards to government benefit recipients in the Prairie State. During the first quarter, it reported a 23.8% decline in noninterest income from cards and payment services.

The Georgia bank warns that the one-two punch of rising inflation and supply-chain issues on its smaller commercial customers makes that asset class “something we would watch” for potential losses.

Earnings and total loans fell in the first quarter at M&T, but the Buffalo, New York, bank offered a rosier forecast for the rest of 2022. The outlook anticipates a shot in the arm from the recent acquisition of People's United Financial.

The Dallas bank reported an increase in energy loans for the first time in nearly three years, but executives don’t expect fossil-fuel lending to rebound to its previous highs.

Bruce Van Saun, the Rhode Island bank’s CEO, previewed a branch-light strategy in new markets like South Florida and Washington, D.C. Citizens recently closed acquisitions of Investors Bancorp and much of HSBC’s U.S. retail banking business.

The bank has pivoted its commercial real estate operation as the rise of work-from-home arrangements has impacted market values. The only type of office space it's financing is Class-A buildings in major cities.

Though noninterest income at Truist Financial fell in the first quarter, executives revised upward their revenue estimate for the year in anticipation that the Fed’s monetary-tightening plans will fatten margins. Citizens Financial and Fifth Third echoed that thinking.

The Federal Reserve’s most hawkish official cracked open the door to discussing the first 75-basis-point interest rate hike since 1994, a move economists say would be a last resort in case inflation further spirals out of control.

The New York custody banking giant took an eight-cent blow to its first-quarter earnings per share as a result of its retreat from the Russian market. Still, the company’s current estimate of the move’s ongoing impact is slightly smaller than its previous guidance.

Bank of America expects 3% GDP growth this year and a 2% improvement next year, even in the face of rising rates. Consumers’ continued willingness to spend and borrow, which was evident in the bank’s first-quarter results, is a key reason for that outlook.

Bank of America joined Wall Street rivals in capitalizing on market volatility in the first quarter while also benefiting from a 10% year-over-year increase in loans.

One year after CEO Jane Fraser launched a business revamp, Citigroup reported lower revenue, higher expenses and a big reserve for loan losses in Russia. Yet the company’s long-term plan to streamline operations and invest in high-performing businesses — all with an aim to strengthen shareholder returns — still appears on track.

The Detroit company’s first-quarter results were highlighted by a 14% increase in car-loan originations. While executives expect credit quality to start normalizing, they also say that demand for vehicles will remain robust, with an estimated 4 million-5 million consumers still waiting on the sidelines.

The Pittsburgh bank had warned that business activity in its capital markets unit was slowing because of economic uncertainty stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But its fee income declined by more than the company anticipated in the first quarter, and looming rate hikes from the Fed will no doubt cut into mortgage income further.

U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo both reported robust business loan volumes during the first quarter, while other large lenders reported smaller gains. Inflation is fueling more spending on technology, and companies are catching up on capital expenditures that they deferred earlier in the pandemic, according to bank executives.