Business lending rose 6% at the Pittsburgh bank, while consumer lending was largely flat.

Higher dividends and more aggressive repurchase programs are bound to attract more investors, which could boost stock prices and prompt more dealmaking, analysts said.

Even with card defaults ticking up slightly, regional banks remain committed to pursuing more credit card business as they look to both diversify their balance sheets and deepen relationships with customers.

Customers of the Pittsburgh company were unable to access their accounts via online and mobile channels for several hours on Tuesday.

With the first half of 2017 drawing to a close, bank executives gathered this week at the Morgan Stanley Financial Services conference to discuss their companies’ performance thus far and, more important, outline their priorities for the rest of the year and beyond. Here are some of the highlights.

Executives at Wells Fargo, SunTrust and PNC insist that credit cards, mortgages and other consumer lines can help pick up the slack as commercial borrowers remain cautious.

Net income climbed 13% as as the Fed's hike improved loan yields and the stock market’s surge boosted returns from PNC’s stake in BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.