Peapack-Gladstone Financial CEO Doug Kennedy is betting that giving his workforce the same hospitality training hotel employees receive will lead to better customer service and a healthier bottom line.

In March's roundup of American Banker's favorite stories: How rising interest rates took community banks by surprise, small banks and credit unions react to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, ex-Wells Fargo executive Carrie Tolstedt faces potential jail time and more.

Since 2011, and in ever-growing volume, credit unions have been buying community banks. Some see it as the free market at work while bankers say this is another example of credit unions' unfair advantage.

Greenlight, developer of a digital banking app for kids and parents, launched a B2B product for financial institutions. Morgan Stanley and WaFd Bank are early partners.

Questions about the durability of community banks' customer bases and funding costs could dominate first-quarter earnings calls following the downfalls of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

The bailout of Silicon Valley Bank was an abdication of bank regulators' responsibility to see to it that market discipline effectively polices the banking industry.

Financial institutions have a checkered history with students. A credit union and bank point to the benefits of their new products.

The more employees who can confidently tell their bank's story, the better positioned a bank will be to build relationships and earn business.

Lenders had started tightening as early as the fourth quarter in anticipation of a possible recession. Now, the banking crisis is driving community and regional banks in particular to hit the brakes harder, stoking renewed recessions fears.

Diversity, equity and inclusion has only grown in importance to the financial services industry over the last few years. For that reason, DEI philosophies are becoming a bigger concern as buyers and sellers try to determine how their corporate cultures might mesh.

A researcher tested the prediction that banks will step in when payday lenders face restrictions. They didn't want his business.

The banks invested in bonds at a time when rates were low, and their value has since dropped substantially. While there appears to be very little risk that the banks will ever have to realize the losses, an American Banker data analysis raises questions about whether regulators should toughen their monitoring of interest rate risk.

Investors have bought a one-branch bank in Elmore City, Oklahoma (the town that inspired "Footloose"), renamed it Old Glory Bank and plan an all-digital brand that emphasizes patriotism. Experts question whether Old Glory is offering a solution to a nonexistent problem.

A few years ago, banks and credit unions were veering away from drive-up service in their new branches. And then the pandemic hit.

A reasonable approach to comprehensive credit risk management can protect banks against the impact of a recession while ensuring the industry doesn't contribute to any potential economic volatility.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said mobile apps and consumers' ability to move millions of dollars with a few clicks of a button mark a sea change for how bankers manage and regulators respond to the risk of depositor panics.

The North Carolina bank's venture capital arm has recently taken stakes in two early-stage companies, including one aimed at helping independent pharmacists, after cashing out on two others last year.

The combined bank would have more than $8 billion of assets. The acquisition counters a trend of slowed merger activity amid regulatory pressure and an ongoing banking industry crisis.