As Mastercard Installments nears launch, the card network is lining up tech partners to connect issuers to its buy now/pay later ecosystem.

The Columbus, Ohio, bank has agreed to buy an investment banking and advisory firm that caters to midsize companies to "accelerate" the growth of its capital markets unit.

A few months ago bankers were more hopeful than confident about an end to depressed demand for business credit. Now CEOs at Huntington, Fifth Third, Mercantile Bank and other companies are touting strong fourth-quarter loan growth, burgeoning pipelines and local job creation as reasons for optimism.

Ally and Huntington are the latest banks to take steps that will reduce revenue from customers who spend money they don’t have. The moves come at a time when technological, regulatory and social forces are converging to encourage change.

The Indiana company is buying 14 branches that Huntington Bancshares is divesting as a condition of its deal to buy TCF Financial.

The Columbus, Ohio, company plans to close nearly 200 branches in the state — including more than 90 in Meijer grocery stores — after it acquires TCF Financial. It also intends to significantly boost its technology spending to improve its digital capabilities.

The Columbus, Ohio, company says it has delivered on M&A promises before, and many observers say its deal for rival TCF Financial is an opportunistic move in its bid to build a Midwestern powerhouse. But others questioned whether Huntington's cost-cutting and profit expectations are too optimistic.

The deal would create a $168 billion banking company in the Midwest and be the latest in a string of regional bank combinations.

Customers say the Beam savings app is down and the company isn't returning their money. The situation is putting third parties like Huntington and Dwolla in the firing line, though they say they're not at fault.

The Ohio company's new effort will commit $25 million in 7(a) loans, along with fee waivers and financial education.

Many consumers are taking to the highways and the water for safe getaways during the pandemic — powering one of the few bright spots in lending. However, bankers warn that boomlets usually come with distinctive credit risks.

The Ohio regional added a feature to its mobile app that analyzes a customer's spending habits before sweeping small amounts of cash into a savings account.

The bank's five-year commitment will focus on providing more capital to small businesses and expanding access to affordable housing and homeownership.

The Ohio company, which has beefed up its loan-loss reserves, raised the possibility of more sales of oil and gas credits and talked up strong retail segments such as its marine and RV loans.

While elevated loan-loss provisions are expected to eat into all banks’ earnings, midsize banks could suffer more than their big-bank rivals because they have fewer revenue drivers. Meanwhile, investors will be watching closely for any signs of dividend cuts stemming from the Federal Reserve’s caps on payouts.

Lenders are cautioning not only that second-quarter provisions might exceed the spike seen earlier this year, but also that credit costs could be elevated into 2021 if the economic slowdown drags on or fears of a second coronavirus wave are borne out.

The energy business alone faces immense challenges and the overall economy may not bounce back until 2022, Stephen Steinour says.

For many small providers, the coronavirus pandemic means falling revenue and rising expenses, as many either shut their doors to new business or staff up to deal with COVID-19 patients. Bankers say that means helping them bridge the cash-flow gaps until they can get back to business as usual.

Wells Fargo's continued leadership shake-up led to more executive shuffling in the final two months of 2019.

Many business customers are putting off expansion because they can’t find enough workers to fill available jobs.