In a survey last month, only one in 10 chief executives identified mergers as their top priority, while 77% pointed to organic growth. The sparse interest in dealmaking may be due to volatile markets, along with slower approvals from regulators.

The deal will help the bank serve small-business customers that are shifting to digital payments.

Customers are responding well so far to the Minneapolis bank's May rollout of video appointments with branch bankers.

The Minneapolis company recently advised a nonprofit on a $30 million issuance that will provide financing to developers building multifamily housing and community facilities. It includes a framework, which the bank intends to deploy again, for informing investors on how the money is being used.

The Minneapolis company has agreed to buy PFM Asset Management. Like many in the industry, it is hunting for additional sources of noninterest income.

It's the latest move in an industry shift toward more secure sharing of bank account data with fintechs and away from screen scraping.

The banks disclosed this week that they are under scrutiny for conduct that may have harmed consumers. The timing raises questions about whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Biden is poised to bring more enforcement actions against large banks than it did under Trump-appointed Director Kathy Kraninger.

The probe is the latest example of the consumer bureau scrutinizing sales tactics at big banks following the Wells Fargo fake-accounts scandal. U.S. Bancorp said it is cooperating fully.

“If I see something that needs to be fixed, I tend to just gravitate toward it,” said Ratliff, U.S. Bank's head of disputes and prepaid operations.

The company’s payments services business has struggled during the pandemic, but executives are counting on commercial clients’ embrace of real-time payments to help fuel the unit’s growth in 2021.

The Minneapolis company teamed with the fintech Personetics to develop an automated-savings feature on its app that goes beyond most rival offerings by monitoring cash flow and spending to determine safe amounts to set aside.

Marcus Martin will be responsible for expanding sustainable investing options for the Minneapolis company's corporate and commercial customers.

The industry legend turned around a struggling Minneapolis company and even escaped a kidnapping to build the firm that is now the nation’s fifth-largest bank.

Ellison-Taylor, an expert in technology and finance and former chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is the second Black woman and fourth person of color on the Minneapolis bank's board.

Hundreds of branches temporarily shuttered during the pandemic are now permanently closed.

As the pandemic transforms the way corporations pay suppliers, many banks are watching nimble fintechs rush in with streamlined solutions customized for remote workforces. U.S. Bank didn’t want to risk getting cut out of that equation.

The two banks are among those deploying advanced analytics to give customers advice before they may even know they need it.

The Minneapolis company says the majority of branches earmarked for closing have already been shuttered for months due to the pandemic. Some of the savings will be plowed back into digital expansion.

The flood of liquidity that accompanied the pandemic recession isn’t likely to subside anytime soon. Banks will have to employ a mix of securities buying, hedging and other balance-sheet-management tricks to prop up margins longer than initially imagined.

As part of American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance program, we have selected five “Top Teams” for 2020. U.S. Bancorp is one of the team honorees.