These are the executives, regulators, investors, disruptors and firebrands who will have the biggest impact on bankers in the coming year.

HoldCo Asset Management says that shareholders should reject Fifth Third's proposed acquisition of Comerica during a Jan. 6 vote due to what it calls an "unacceptable" negotiation process and the possible upside from another deal.

The largest bank deal to be announced in 2025 is still on track to close in the first quarter of next year, Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said. His comments came amid opposition to various aspects of the deal, as well as how it came together and the timeline for closing the transaction.

The lawsuit alleges the fintech giant secured its own corporate data with strong MFA while leaving client systems vulnerable to compromise.

Federal Reserve watchers expect a board of governors vote in February to reappoint the 12 regional Fed bank presidents — which is typically treated as a formality — to be the next flashpoint in the White House's effort to bring the central bank to heel.

Congress' recent ban on nearly all forms of intoxicating hemp products signals a sharp political turn away from rescheduling, making the prospects for cannabis banking reform even more dim than they already were.

The CEO spoke with American Banker about the company's plans for AI, blockchain, taking its digital wallet global and making PayPal and Venmo work together for the first time.

Now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has refused to request funding from the Federal Reserve System, many experts see the case making its way to the Supreme Court.

U.S. commercial banks and savings banks have reduced employment by nearly 81,000 since the first quarter of 2023, including a net loss of 7,463 positions during the third quarter of this year, according to a new report from KRBA Financial Intelligence. Big banks, which have been embracing artificial intelligence, were big contributors to the decline.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in an exclusive interview with American Banker Monday that regulators must bring more new entrants into the banking industry, establish a level playing field between banks and fintechs, and shore up supervision amid mounting legal scrutiny.

HoldCo Asset Management alleged in a court filing that Comerica's directors and Chairman and CEO Curt Farmer breached their fiduciary duties to investors, in part because negotiations for the bank's sale to Fifth Third took just 17 days.

The Federal Reserve played a behind-the-scenes role in facilitating the sale of PacWest Bancorp, providing an enticement to private-equity interests to make a deal happen, according to agency records and recent comments by a prominent banking lawyer.

Advances from the Federal Home Loan Banks dipped in the third quarter, but experts do not necessarily see the dip as a sign of ample liquidity in the economy.

An activist investor is seeking more information on how, and when, the largest bank deal of 2025 came together.

BNY estimates the market for stablecoins, tokenized deposits and other assets will reach a combined value of $3.6 trillion in four years, while Standard Chartered says the entire banking industry will soon be "tokenized." The trend is creating pressure to update strategies and technology.

The government shutdown is over, and Congress gets back to its regular business. For banks, the biggest-ticket issues are ongoing deliberations on raising deposit insurance and shaping a crypto market structure bill.

Fed Gov. Stephan Miran has spent his short tenure at the central bank arguing that disinflation in housing and immigration reforms will tamp down inflation in the near term. But other economists say the timing, degree and context of those effects is very much in question.

Industry groups and consumer advocates are continuing to push for regulators to interpret the GENIUS Act's prohibition on stablecoin interest as broadly as possible, while crypto firms push for a narrower interpretation, arguing that increased competition would benefit consumers.

Eric Girard, who became the bank's head of embedded banking and co-head of commercial product in October, is aiming to make the technology more accessible.

The volume of home equity lines of credit expanded for the 14th consecutive quarter, driven largely by fintechs and other nonbanks that are accounting for more and more of the business.