New president of Promontory Interfinancial Network says recession will cause "hundreds" of nonbank disruptors to fail; lenders face dilemma over offering Main Street loans to noncustomers; PNC Financial expands, diversifies executive leadership team; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

Less than three weeks after making a $1.05 billion pledge to fight racism, the Pittsburgh company promoted two Black bankers to its top-level management committee.

With stimulus money running out and forbearances set to expire, consumer spending is bound to shrink. That's bad news for business owners and their landlords, the Pittsburgh bank's CEO says.

The Pittsburgh-based company said the funds will be used to support community development, minority-owned businesses and charitable organizations that work to promote social justice.

They join an ever-expanding list of companies choosing to close offices early Friday to observe the day that commemorates the end of slavery.

Leaders of companies including Citizens, Comerica and Truist offered more upbeat assessments of loan demand and credit quality than they have in recent weeks. But others warned of weakness in key sectors such as energy and real estate, and said forbearance policies may be hiding potential pitfalls.

Flush with capital from the sale of its stake in BlackRock, PNC is willing to go big on an acquisition but would be wary of buying a bank with a heavy concentration of consumer loans, CEO William Demchak said.

The challenger bank OakNorth has been peddling its lending platform to U.S. banks for a year. When it saw COVID-19 on the horizon, it retooled to include a ratings system predicting how borrowers will be affected by the pandemic.

The Pittsburgh company’s sale of its stake in the asset manager yielded billions of dollars that could cushion the pandemic’s economic blow and eventually help fund a big acquisition.

The Pittsburgh company has owned a 22% position in the money manager since 1995.

The biggest lenders seem to have handled the corporate rush for cash heading into the economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But their ability to collect is as uncertain as the economic outlook for the next year.

Reluctant to cancel what have become pipelines for developing talent, banks are delaying start dates or moving programs entirely online.

Truist, Key, Fifth Third and PNC became the latest banks to restrict branch access to the drive-through window or appointment only.

They are under less pressure from policymakers to halt repurchase plans, but some have already hit the brakes and others may unofficially do so if the pandemic worsens.

A Denver company says that the $410 billion-asset bank used its confidential information to create a copycat product and poach its customers. PNC is contesting the allegations.

A New Jersey jury has put banks and other businesses on notice about their liability for incidents involving clients who mistreat employees in the workplace.

Lenders that depend on the Export-Import Bank to back loans to exporters are already seeing business borrowing pick up after Congress reauthorized the agency in December.

Citizens Financial Group’s fourth-quarter results highlight the challenges regionals face in generating top-line growth.

Plaid may be a more problematic acquisition than Visa made it out to be. But without Visa, those problems were likely to get a lot worse.

CEO William Demchak said the bank has witnessed "a lot of mischief" among customers who open checking accounts to collect bonuses and then never use the accounts again.