Finance

In the wake of spiking interest rates and surging deposit costs, bankers are looking for ways to scale back their overall expense bases to protect their bottom lines.

As foot traffic in stores slows, the prepaid card issuer is upgrading its technology to serve more customers via embedded finance and payroll partnerships.

Block has launched several new products in recent months to boost its profile among merchants, setting the stage for its next steps involving advanced artificial intelligence and open development techniques.

Levels of concern rise above where they were during the 2008 financial meltdown.

At the embattled Republic First Bancorp, elevated legal, professional and audit fees also contributed to a nearly $10 million in first-quarter loss but CEO Thomas Geisel reports signs of progress moving past "legacy headwinds."

The neobank expects to turn a profit by the end of the year, but faces challenges as it copes with the government's pause on federal student loan repayment and with the difficulty of selling technology services to other businesses.

Banks grappled with a litany of questions throughout earnings season about the likelihood of a recession and the potential for increased pressure on commercial real estate borrowers.

About $2.9 billion of the deposits the company obtained from the failed Signature Bank had fled as of last week, and executives are forecasting that number to double. However, they say they're "cautiously optimistic" they can lure some deposits back.

Even as First Republic Bank has sunk deeper into crisis this week — falling as much as 49% on one day alone — shares of many of its peers, including names like PacWest Bancorp and UMB Financial, have mostly held steady.