The number of U.S. bank branches dropped by a record 2,927 last year as lenders both large and small sought ways to cut costs and keep pace with a digital transformation sweeping the finance industry.

Grupo Financiero Banorte is seen as the top contender among potential bidders to buy Citigroup’s Mexican consumer banking operations, according to analysts at Credit Suisse Group and Bank of America. 

Executives predict a 5% to 6% bump in lending this year, and they also say they'd be comfortable if up to a third of the Cincinnati company's excess cash migrates away.

The tax preparation giant is diversifying its services with a digital bank that it hopes will entice customers with no-fee features, cash back rewards and early access to paychecks.

The nonprofit received a $1.5 million grant to monitor, evaluate and strengthen consumer protections in the digital financial marketplace. Here's what it's doing with the funds.

The government has become more skeptical of mergers, but the Minneapolis company expressed confidence it can maintain its original timeline for the $8 billion acquisition. Separately, it announced substantial changes to its overdraft program that will, among other things, eliminate fees for nonsufficient funds.

The Irvine, California, bank has been beset by compliance woes since early 2021, when state regulators issued an order requiring it to bolster its capital and reduce the concentration of its commercial real estate footprint.

Google has hired former PayPal executive Arnold Goldberg to run its payments division and set a new course for the business after it scrapped a push into banking.

The Rhode Island bank estimated that its revised overdraft practices will cost $40 million each year, but it noted that complaints to call centers are down 40% since the policy change.

The U.K. neobank has expanded its U.S. customer base to 300,000 mobile users and diversified its product line to include basic banking, crypto trading and investing.

Fourth-quarter net interest income rose 11% from a year earlier to $11.4 billion at Bank of America, though its average loan balances edged up just 1% over the same period.

The economic and political conditions are in place for bank-credit union mergers to blow past last year's total of 13 despite the banking industry's strong opposition to them.

The nation’s sixth-largest bank will offer a $750 line of credit to customers who need short-term liquidity, and will gradually become less reliant on older accounts that charge the controversial fees. With the plans, Truist is moving in the same direction as many large and midsize banks.

Traditional banks could be forced to add cryptocurrency product offerings in 2022 to compete with fintechs that are taking advantage of blockchain innovations, according to Diogo Mónica, co-founder and president of Anchorage.

A group of community banks and two major trade associations have formed a partnership with and invested in the fintech NYDIG to offer the service on the banks’ mobile apps by midyear. The banks say it will help them generate revenue and retain customers interested in cryptocurrency.

The companies originally hoped to complete the deal in late 2021. The buyer chalked up the delay to an overburdened Federal Reserve, rather than any problems with its application.

It has also taken a stake in Rêv Worldwide, developer of the bank's cross-border traveler account that supports currencies including the U.S. dollar, the euro and the Mexican peso.

Year to date through Sep. 30, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

Citigroup, which has been shedding some of its retail operations as part of a global revamp, is in advanced talks with Taiwan’s Fubon Financial Holding for a sale of its mainland China consumer business, people familiar with the matter said.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is nearing the end of her organizational overhaul after deciding to cut loose retail-banking operations in Mexico. She will make the case at an upcoming investor day that the company is on the verge of producing stronger shareholder returns.