Executives at America's largest banks are making rosier predictions about the financial health of U.S. households than they were a year ago, when their forecasts proved to be overly pessimistic.

Rewards jumped as the Covid-19 pandemic spurred trading and deals in 2020, eventually setting off a war for talent. They then collapsed last year as rising interest rates put a damper on client activity — a malaise that stretched through 2023.

The Ohio Democrat is pressuring the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo to proactively provide financial benefits to active-duty service members. Those protections are enshrined in a 2003 law, but many service members do not seek them out.

More than half of those elevated to the senior role were women or people of color, marking the fourth consecutive year that historically underrepresented groups made up the majority of the class.

What do younger clients want from wealth managers? Katy Knox, president of Bank of America's Private Bank, sits down with American Banker Editor-in-Chief Chana Schoenberger to discuss the future of high-net-worth investing and what clients are looking for now.

Banks including Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have announced individual sustainable finance targets for 2030 that range from $750 billion to $2.5 trillion. Yet such statements leave investors with little real insight into the very different ways in which banks are defining what's sustainable.

At first blush, the deal might provide evidence that the bank doesn't shun the oil and gas industry as the label suggests. In fact, Bank of America has been named by environmental groups as one of the biggest financiers of fossil fuels in the world.

The biggest laggard among the US banking giants, BofA's investments earn less than its closest rivals, and the stock is the group's worst performer by far.

U.S. Bancorp and Truist picked literal names for their virtual assistants to avoid confusing customers, while Fifth Third and Regions created characters called "Jeanie" and "Reggie" to put clients at ease. Other companies are trying to split the difference.

The bank has committed to hit a base wage of $25 an hour by 2025; officials also said it would lease space in a giant new office tower in Dallas, its second-largest hub.