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Fourth-quarter profits rose 10% at the Cleveland company as investment banking income hit a record and nonperforming loans plummeted. Executives say charge-offs will probably start rising in late 2022 but that fee income from capital markets transactions will keep growing.

The megabank is dealing with one less regulatory headache following the termination of an enforcement action related to the sale of identity protection products.

Costs climbed 11% in the fourth quarter, but the Georgia company says it remains on track to generate $175 million by the end of this year through a combination of expense cuts and revenue enhancements.

The deal is the latest example of a mainstream bank buying a point-of-sale lender focused on financing home improvement projects.

The largest bank based in oil-rich Texas is building a framework for gauging the threat that climate change poses to its business and plans to disclose more information on the subject this summer. Meanwhile, its energy loan portfolio shrank 24% year over year.

Customers are ramping up borrowing just as interest rates are poised to rise. That combination “sets us up nicely for 2022,” says CEO Brian Moynihan.

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.

An uptick in commercial borrowers’ credit line utilization rates bodes well for loan growth in 2022, PNC Financial Services Group CEO William Demchak said Tuesday.

The former Zurich Insurance Group executive replaces Antonio Horta-Osorio, who was forced to resign for breaking coronavirus quarantine rules in Switzerland and the U.K.

The Federal Reserve Board would become far more diverse if Sarah Bloom Raskin, Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook are confirmed by the Senate. Jefferson and Cook are respected economists seen as likely to get the nod, but Republicans will challenge Raskin's assertions that bank regulators can play a vital role in combating climate change.

Shares fell sharply Friday after the company said spending increased 14% in the fourth quarter and will climb by another 8% in 2022. But CEO Jamie Dimon said the investments in marketing, technology and talent are necessary to ward off threats from traditional banks and upstart fintechs.

Overall the company reported fourth-quarter profits of $3.17 billion, which fell short of analysts' forecasts as borrowing declined on Citi-branded cards, fixed-income trading tumbled and one-time charges mounted.

Despite that year-over-year decline, the company beat analysts' expectations with fourth-quarter net income of $5.8 billion. Stronger commercial lending and lower expenses cushioned the blow in consumer credit.

The company's fourth-quarter trading revenue declined notably more than analysts had expected, while its business and consumer lending each dropped 1% year over year.

President Biden will nominate Sarah Bloom Raskin to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for Supervision and Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to be governors. The selections keep a Biden promise to improve diversity at the Fed.

Citigroup is offloading its consumer-banking businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam as CEO Jane Fraser continues her push to simplify the New York-based bank.

Fed Gov. Lael Brainard, President Biden's nominee for Federal Reserve vice chair, sought to assure GOP members of the Senate Banking Committee she favors a more limited supervisory approach that would help larger banks identify pockets of risk in their loan portfolios.

In a letter to the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Agriculture Committees say the watchdog has a “critical role to play“ in regulating digital assets. 

Jerome Powell sought to strike a political balance at his reconfirmation hearing. He assured Republicans the Federal Reserve wouldn't overstep its authority on bank mergers and other matters, while telling Democrats the central bank has a responsibility to monitor financial stability and the risks of climate change.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida intends to resign from the board of governors on Jan. 14, two weeks before his term is due to expire.