The regional bank has begun closing branches in Chicagoland as part of a plan to reduce its net number of brick-and-mortar offices by up to 15% even as it looks to expand in the Southeast.

A former call center worker says he lost his job last year after reporting that employees were given incentives to market credit cards to ineligible borrowers.

Even as consumer and CRE lending slowed in the first quarter, business lending — particularly to middle-market companies — surged. But some banks are already warning that the growth could taper off as competition from nonbanks heats up.

Investors seem to be betting that a long-rumored sale of the Dallas company is on hold now that it has named a new CEO, but analysts say it remains an attractive takeover target for a larger regional bank.

The Minneapolis bank will open about 10 branches in North Carolina's largest city by the end of next year, adding to already intensifying competition among big banks.

CEO Andy Cecere acknowledges that other banks have tried to broaden customer relationships and selectively expand into new markets before and struggled. But the sophistication of today’s online and mobile services could make all the difference this time, he says.

Asked whether the BB&T-SunTrust deal had sparked a desire to pursue deals, Andy Cecere emphasized a focus on digital upgrades and opening branches in new markets.

The Minneapolis bank reported mid- to high-single-digit improvement in those categories, but total loan growth was curbed by declines in CRE and other credit types.

The company will shutter the offices it inherited when it bought EverBank in 2017 and focus on lending to existing customers through digital channels. U.S. Bank will assume the leases on about 25 properties.

The new asset-based securities lending unit, based in Charlotte, N.C., will provide warehouse lines of credits to nonbank consumer and commercial lenders.

For thousands of government employees, credit card bills are coming due for travel and other expenses they incurred before the shutdown.

The nation’s fifth-largest bank now has the financial flexibility to consolidate more branches in existing markets and open new, smaller ones in cities where it has no retail presence, CEO Andy Cecere said.

Some in the industry worry the Fed may balk at allowing OCC charter recipients into the payments system, but Otting downplayed those concerns.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren questioned the five largest U.S. retail banks in a letter on what they are doing to reduce the impact of the government shutdown on customers.

Financial institutions of all sizes are offering low- or zero-rate loans, waiving fees and making other arrangements to aid federal workers — a practice that regulators officially blessed on Friday, the 21st day of the closing of many U.S. agencies.

The year saw anxiety over how banks would respond to record consumer debt, disruptive glitches at TD Bank and SunTrust, ongoing scandal at Wells Fargo, and much, much more.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced Friday that it has lifted restrictions relating to U.S. Bank's flawed efforts to prevent money laundering and Citi's deceptive marketing and billing practices.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is requiring all companies to record leases for property and equipment on their balance sheets. Here’s how that revision could affect banks’ loan decisions — and their own capital ratios.

The regional bank is working with customers to help develop and launch new products, including a small-business credit card.

Big-bank execs downplayed gloomy economic forecasts and said a commercial lending rally, niche M&A and smart tech spending will drive growth in 2019.