Profits at Cleveland-based KeyCorp have suffered due to bonds it bought when interest rates were low. But a recent investment by Canada's Scotiabank gave Key more wiggle room — an early benefit of a deal that both companies hope to build on.

KeyCorp wasn't seeking capital but saw the benefits of Scotiabank's minority stake. The deal would enable the Canadian lender to step into the U.S. consumer market.

The Cleveland-based bank is projecting steady growth in net interest income even as credit losses remain manageable. But Chairman and CEO Chris Gorman also said that he thinks a recession is likely.

A year ago, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition accused KeyBank of redlining. On Wednesday, the NCRC and Key announced a $25 million "agreement" that NCRC CEO Jesse Van Tol says could open the door to a new community benefits plan.

The bank is launching KeyVAM, a virtual account management offering it designed with fintech Qolo. Both companies said the nature of the relationship was as important as the technology it produced.

The Cleveland-based regional bank is shedding credit risk in a partnership with the private equity giant Blackstone. It's the latest tie-up between asset managers and regional banks that are looking to free up balance-sheet capacity.

The Cleveland-based regional bank was not well positioned for the sharp rise in interest rates last year. But executives say the year ahead will be different, pointing to strong credit quality and a repricing of Key's securities portfolio.

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 is working with The Clearing House and real estate tech company EMTransfer and is hoping to cut paper and time from the process of selling property.

Cleveland-based KeyCorp posts a subdued profit in the wake of a loan loss provision that was more than six times greater than the level of fourth-quarter net charge-offs.

Only six years ago, KeyBank was nowhere to be found in a ranking of the top 25 banks for lending to developers of affordable housing. Last year, under the leadership of Angela Mago, the bank finished in the No. 2 spot, sandwiched between Citi at No. 1 and JP Morgan Chase at No. 3, according to Affordable Housing Finance.

As KeyBank relies more heavily on automation and cloud-based services, Amy Brady knows the bank will need more engineers. But she also wants more diversity in the engineering group, which has lagged the national average of 8% for Black engineers.

Bank-issued prepaid benefits cards were supposed to help state governments deliver these funds more efficiently. But the pandemic scrambled the economics of these programs.

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.

KeyCorp paid out bonuses to investment bankers of as much as $25,000 in June, according to people familiar with the matter, joining other financial firms that have boosted pay to retain talent.

The company, which is phasing out positions in areas including mainframe computing and lockbox operations, is offering employees 10 hours of instruction per quarter to learn how to manage bots and develop other new skills, Chief Information Officer Amy Brady says.

Commercial and industrial loans fell 14.3% in the second quarter. But CEO Chris Gorman says green shoots are emerging, pointing in particular to recent stability in credit line utilization rates.