Finance

Steve Squeri said flatness in the segment is an industry-wide trend, and the company is dedicated to the segment.

The Los Angeles company has sold $6 billion of loans and securities since buying PacWest in November. CEO Jared Wolff said it might get smaller still as it strives to boost profitability.

Economic headwinds causing charge-offs and rising delinquencies — along with potential credit card late-fee restrictions — darken the company's 2024 forecast.

The private student loan market is in flux after one major lender, Discover Financial Services, said it's leaving the sector. Sallie Mae is gearing up to compete for that business, much as it did when Wells Fargo pulled up stakes in 2020.

Activity from the Bank Term Funding Program has spiked by roughly $50 billion since November, when its rate fell below the level where institutions could earn money by keeping reserves at the central bank.

The Bank Term Funding Program, established during last year's liquidity crunch, will stop issuing new loans on March 11. Until then, banks can still borrow from the facility, though at less favorable terms.

The Oklahoma-based regional bank expects 6%-7% loan growth in the year ahead. Executives are also projecting that net interest income will start to improve after the metric hits a trough early this year.

After California was hit hard by the banking crisis of 2023, tens of thousands of commercial and consumer customers turned to East West, helping the company achieve record full-year revenue, its CEO says.

Banks and Congressmen alike see U.S. regulators' version of Basel III as overly stringent for the securitization market.

The credit card issuer said it's "cautiously optimistic" about its borrowers' financial health, with charge-offs expected to rise not much further than pre-pandemic levels. The upbeat outlook contrasts with a key competitor's guidance of significantly higher losses.

The Salt Lake City bank says that it doesn't expect major losses, even though its problem loans grew at the end of 2023.

The Tennessee-based bank was forced to keep operating on its own after a proposed acquisition was called off. Months later, First Horizon has picked up new customers and improved its profitability, but investors remain cautious amid plans for catch-up spending on technology.

Several regional banks have projected minimal growth or even a decline in lending this year. But Connecticut-based Webster is bullish based on its pipeline of nonoffice commercial real estate, public finance and other credits, CEO John Ciulla says.

The Indiana bank is "on offense by continuing to invest in new client-facing and key support talent and being ready and opportunistic for acquisitions," CEO Jim Ryan says.

The former treasurer of FMC Corp. worries that the proposed new capital rules will translate into higher costs for corporate borrowers and reduced access to key types of financing options.

The Columbus, Ohio-based bank expects to hike expenses by about 4.5% this year as it ramps up investments in geographic areas and specialty banking verticals where it sees growth opportunities.

The expansion program, entering its sixth year, gives the Cincinnati-based company a regional profile few of its competitors can match, CEO Tim Spence said on a conference call with analysts.

Industry recruiters see the changes as intended to make client assets and advisory teams "stickier" and to retain executive talent.

Investors drove up the stock prices of both companies after Ally Financial said it's selling its point-of-sale lending business to Synchrony Financial. The deal is expected to help Ally focus on its bread-and-butter auto lending business, while also aiding Synchrony's efforts to gain market share.

The Alabama bank's executives said commercial borrowers remain cautious amid high rates and economic uncertainty. During the fourth quarter, flat lending and higher deposit costs weighed down the company's net interest income.