Citizens Bank

Under Beth Johnson's leadership, Citizens has been building a database that is designed to reveal which customers are best suited for specific products.

Flush with cash, many commercial firms are also opting to pay down debt rather than take on new loans, and those seeking financing aren’t always turning to banks to meet their needs.

JPMorgan Chase’s partnership with OnDeck Capital was expected to augur a wave of similar agreements between banks and online business lenders. But so far, most banks have avoided joining forces with companies they also view as competitors.

The role of branches in consumers' lives may be changing in the digital age, but brick-and-mortar locations are here to stay. To adapt, Citizens Bank has begun a "10-year process" of retrofitting its branch network.

The post-election rise in business optimism has not yet resulted in stronger demand for loans, if the first quarter was any indication. What does that mean for regional banks?

Fintech has upended parts of the banking industry and made old ways of doing business obsolete. But that's also what makes it an exciting time to be a banker, says Citizens Bank CEO Bruce Van Saun.

At a time when customers are rapidly switching to digital banking, scores of branches are closing. But many institutions — mindful that brick-and-mortar locations remain a critical sales channel — are also experimenting with physical layouts that are focused on technology and generally smaller than traditional branches. In some cases, they have even done away with employees. Here is a look at some of the designs that banks have built as they seek to fuse the physical with the digital.