A combination of higher interest rates and increased vacancies — especially in office buildings — are leading to more apprehensions in commercial real estate.

The company has long been criticized for its lagging financial performance and its complexity. CEO Jane Fraser is pushing through Citigroup's most recent transformation plan, but will she succeed where her predecessors have failed?

First Busey closes acquisition of Merchants and Manufacturers Bank; Stax co-founders launch a new credit-scoring tool; UMB's marketing chief takes on consumer banking; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

Based on the pace of deals through late March, the banking industry is on track for the most branch sales since 2021. Buyer interest has mounted alongside the need to acquire deposits, following hits to funding bases last year.

In an increasingly cashless society, having a basic bank account ought to be an inalienable right. Instead, we have a system that deliberately prevents millions of Americans from making even the simplest transactions.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Martin Gruenberg said the agency would prioritize urging banks to invest in underserved communities as part of a revised economic inclusion plan unveiled Thursday.

The federal agency's director said Wednesday that regulators were working to refocus bank merger evaluations on community impact.

A year ago, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition accused KeyBank of redlining. On Wednesday, the NCRC and Key announced a $25 million "agreement" that NCRC CEO Jesse Van Tol says could open the door to a new community benefits plan.

Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, sued Citigroup and argued it should be liable for fraud cases involving consumer wire transfers. But Citi said the AG's view would bring about a "sea change in banking law."

Banking regulators and the Department of Justice must decide whether the blockbuster deal raises antitrust concerns. Looming over their analyses are questions about how broadly or narrowly to define the relevant markets.

With high deposit and borrowing costs persisting amid the Federal Reserve's campaign against inflation, lenders face stress on their net interest margins and the potential of troubled loans ticking up.

Houston-based Prosperity Bancshares said it closed its purchase of Lone Star State Bancshares about a year later than initially planned.

Mergers have left Virginia without an independent statewide financial institution. Atlantic Union CEO John Asbury is trying to change that.

The proposed data sharing rules could create opportunities for forward-thinking financial institutions to better serve their customers and meet ever-growing expectations for digital finance.

There are lingering questions related to the agency's 1033 proposal, including how to balance access to information with fraud prevention. But financial institutions should look for ways that access to additional data could help them create better products.

The U.S. arm of Spanish banking giant Santander has hired Swati Bhatia to oversee retail banking and its digital transformation efforts. Bhatia joins at "an inflection point" for the company, which aims to be "a digital bank with branches," CEO Tim Wennes said.

Last year, the Raleigh, N.C.-based Integrated called off a deal to sell itself to MVB Financial after bank stocks took a hit in the aftermath of the regional bank failures. Capital hopes to expand its government-guaranteed lending with the transaction.

Managers often find themselves frustrated that their expectations aren't being met. Instead of assuming the worst about employees, first ask yourself whether you have clearly expressed what you want from your team.

Ally Financial ended a six-month search for its next chief executive by hiring Discover CEO Michael Rhodes. The move adds a new wrinkle to Discover's pending sale, though Discover said that Rhodes hadn't been expected to have a long-term role at Capital One following the merger's completion.