"We'll be taking steps to offset expense pressures," CEO Curtis Farmer told analysts after the company reported an 11% year-over-year jump in costs and falling profits.

Comerica CEO Curt Farmer and CFO James Herzog as well as the company itself face a purported class action by shareholders for allegedly making false and misleading statements about the Dallas company's oversight of the Treasury Department's Direct Express program.

The rapid pace of innovation, reliance on a web of vendors and regulatory scrutiny means fourth-party risk is a more pressing consideration than in the past.

The Dallas-based company, which saw $3.7 billion of deposits withdrawn after Silicon Valley Bank failed, now predicts average deposits will fall 14% to 15% compared with last year. However, the pace of outflow is slowing, say the bank's executives.

Curt Farmer, CEO of the Dallas company, defends its management of a Treasury Department program that provides federal benefits on prepaid cards. He says a recent American Banker investigative article "ignores the fact that Comerica took steps to protect Direct Express users when it became aware that a third-party vendor had not followed program protocols for reviewing customer inquiries."

Comerica's shoddy handling of its Treasury contract to manage Social Security and veterans benefits — including outsourcing fraud claims to a vendor in Pakistan — is emblematic of how the banking industry treats the poor.

A Comerica Bank executive admitted to major failures in its handling of the Treasury Department's Direct Express program, including data and resolved fraud disputes sent to a vendor's office in Lahore, Pakistan, a "serious" contract violation.

The Dallas-based bank, whose deposit base is more commercial-focused, has seen significant outflows in deposits over the past year. But last quarter's declines were "better than we expected," and there are other signs that the environment may moderate this year, its CFO said.

The Dallas-based company is expanding in the Southeast and the Mountain West, and overhauling its digital systems, as part of a plan that executives say will pay off over a two- to five-year period.

The industry must adapt quickly to the changing preferences of entrepreneurs and the innovation of nonbanks such as PayPal and Square, according to speakers at American Banker's Small Biz Banking Conference. Traditional players such as U.S. Bancorp and Comerica say they're making the necessary investments.

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.

The Dallas bank appointed Sonya Trac to lead business development in communities that have been hit hard by both the pandemic-induced recession and a recent wave of discrimination. It is also depositing $2.5 million at a Los Angeles bank that serves Asian Americans.

Gage is essentially charged with implementing executives’ vision into practical changes at the Dallas-based company.

At Comerica and Synovus, higher fees from cards, mortgage banking and other sources helped to offset declines in net interest income.

The Dallas company has given Summer Faussette, an external affairs executive, the additional role of national African American business development manager, with a special focus on networking with nonprofit organizations.

Marie Fulle was ordered to spend nearly three and a half years in federal prison and pay $1.09 million in restitution for stealing money from an elderly customer with dementia.

The Dallas bank says reserves could return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021— a year earlier than analysts were predicting — if vaccines prove effective at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Banks have managed to steer around trouble spots in energy, hotel and mall-related credits. But fears of further deterioration, an eviction wave or more job losses are keeping lenders circumspect.

The Dallas bank has begun encouraging larger borrowers to seek forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans first as it holds out for the government to streamline the process for loans below $150,000.