M&T Bank

This time almost no one is questioning the industry's ability to ride out whatever is coming.

The Buffalo, New York-based bank also said Monday that the commercial real estate lending market has started showing signs of life, but that the renewed competition is crimping its loan growth.

King, who spent 24 years at M&T Bank and departed with little explanation, will lead Fifth Third's operations in middle market commercial banking and wealth management.

Banks' latest annual reports, filed in the early weeks of the second Trump administration, provide a window into how the industry is adjusting to a new political climate.

Neeraj Singh joins the Buffalo, New York-based bank after a four-year stint at USAA, which has seen an exodus of top executives.

The bank is "very optimistic" that Trump will appoint financial regulators who are "more balanced" than current agency heads, CFO Daryl Bible said.

The Buffalo, New York-based bank said its commercial real estate portfolio continued to shrink, but this was more than offset by business and consumer lending.

The regional bank has already seen a large reduction in "criticized" loans, and it expects that trend to pick up as lower borrowing costs alleviate the pain in the commercial real estate sector.

Darren King, who has been overseeing retail and business banking, will depart from the bank in August, M&T said Wednesday. A company spokesperson cited personal reasons.

Fourth-quarter net income at the Buffalo, New York, bank fell 37% because of higher funding costs and a special deposit insurance assessment. But lower interest rates and a stronger economy are expected to strengthen profits this year and into 2025, its CFO says.