'It's Hand-to-Hand Combat': Week's Best Quotes

March 18, 2014 7:30 AM

The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide.

Image: Fotolia

On the slow winter that many banks have had, possibly due to cold weather across the country:

"This is probably the first time you will ever hear me use weather as an excuse. It has snowed every day."

Ed Wehmer, the president and chief executive of Wintrust Financial (WTFC) in Rosemont, Ill.

On BBVA's plans for Simple, a digital-banking firm it bought last month:

"We will not mess with them."

Manolo Sanchez, CEO of BBVA Compass

On Citigroup's (NYSE:C) branch network, which is smaller than its megabank rivals':

"I'm not going to be Bank of America, Chase or Wells Fargo. I'm not going to have 4,000-plus branches. Frankly I don't want them."

William Howle, the chief operating officer of Citi's U.S. consumer and commercial businesses and its head of U.S. commercial banking

MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER

Earnings

Unrelenting interest income pressure weighs down PNC's earnings

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank also emphasized expense control for the first quarter and throughout 2024 as it manages credit quality vulnerabilities and higher charge-offs, particularly among office loans.

By Jim Dobbs

35m ago
Strategic planning

NYCB's new CEO fills out his team amid strategy revamp

New York Community Bancorp CEO Joseph Otting has added three former colleagues to the embattled company's leadership team. The hires come six weeks after the Long Island bank got a $1 billion capital infusion, which led to Otting's appointment as CEO.

By Allissa Kline

2h ago
Politics and policy

Warren, Blumenthal press OCC on NYCB-Flagstar deal approval

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., detailed how New York Community Bank grew to exceed the $100 billion threshold that triggers tougher bank requirements and set the bank on a path to market turmoil via a series of deals that were approved, in part, by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

By Claire Williams

3h ago
Payments

Inside FIS' use of AI to weed out false-positive card fraud alerts

When its broad-spectrum payment card fraud-detection filters generated too many false alarms, FIS implemented AI to help banks prioritize which types of fraud to investigate first, in part by muting lower-risk notifications.

By Kate Fitzgerald

4h ago
M&A

Wintrust strikes $510 million deal to acquire Michigan bank

Should the all-stock transaction close as planned later this year, Wintrust Financial in the Chicago area would gain about $2.7 billion of assets.

By Jim Dobbs

April 15
House Financial Services Leadership

Q&A: Rep. French Hill on his bid to lead Republicans on the HFSC

The Arkansas Republican is currently the vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and has a deep background in the banking industry and policy.

By Claire Williams

April 15

'It's Hand-to-Hand Combat': Week's Best Quotes

On the slow winter that many banks have had, possibly due to cold weather across the country:

On BBVA's plans for Simple, a digital-banking firm it bought last month:

On what a convenience-store employee said about working in bank regulation:

On the fierce competition among banks for tech employees:

On Citigroup's (NYSE:C) branch network, which is smaller than its megabank rivals':

On how news of changes in strategy travels quickly in Hawaii's concentrated banking system:

On private-equity shop WL Ross' cashing out its investment in BankUnited:

On East River Bank's use of images of a woman with tattoos in a Philadelphia billboard advertisement: