Banking

A focus on getting work done more efficiently has prompted these midsize banks to rearrange responsibilities, eliminate red tape and use technology to automate repetitive or tedious tasks. Some are also enhancing leadership development and increasing employee benefits amid an increase in turnover.

KeyCorp, Zions and Capital One are among the companies making big moves in a sector that is growing fast and viewed as recession-proof.

Criminals are finding weaknesses in the complex network of applications on banks' sites and exploiting them to launch attacks.

The Minneapolis company is planning a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its operations and the activities it finances, matching a commitment made by many of the nation’s largest financial institutions.

Without the ability to build cutting-edge technology or recruit top talent, the best outcome for many small lenders is to merge with a bank seeking to enter a new market.

Diane Morais, the bank's consumer and commercial banking president, writes that eliminating overdrafts has had little impact on the bottom line, and she encourages more banks to do the same.

From paying for lawn care when an Army Reservist on staff was deployed to offering employees office space and laptops for their children to do school work, United Bank in Alabama aims to make life easier for the people who work there. It is also ramping up internal training programs.

The largest of the 2021 Best Banks to Work For, those with more than $10 billion of assets, are trying new recruiting tactics and ramping up diversity efforts.

Hope Dmuchowski will join the Memphis, Tennessee, bank as it contends with higher-than-expected costs in connection with its acquisition of Iberiabank. She has previous experience with integrations, having participated in the combination of BB&T and SunTrust Banks.

U.S. consumers’ card debt, which fell sharply last year, has now climbed for two consecutive quarters. The upcoming holiday shopping season will signal how quickly borrowing will return to 2019 levels.

The Illinois company plans to combine Guaranty Federal Bancshares in Springfield with another bank it bought in the region.

Meghan Hinds, a 15-year veteran at the San Francisco bank, leads a group that’s been reorganized following several key departures last spring.

The Portland, Oregon, company has tapped former Bank of the West executive Kevin Gillette to lead its expansion in Arizona.

The Pennsylvania community bank lacked the resources to go all-in on developing a diversity, equity and inclusion policy, so it turned to grad students at Georgetown University for help.

Kevin Jones, the longtime leader of MidFlorida Credit Union — one of the largest credit unions in Florida — will retire March 1. He will be succeeded by S. Steve Moseley, who was MidFlorida’s president for the past four years.

The company, whose software is used by four of the top five U.S. banks, says it will use the money to improve its identity verification and fraud detection technology.

The smallest of the Best Banks to Work For have figured out how to thrive in an environment where many employees are working fully or partly from home. Some are using flexibility as a tool to stave off burnout.

Brett King, founder of Moven, host of the radio show “Breaking Banks” and co-author of the forthcoming book “The Rise of Technosocialism,” has strong opinions about how technology is changing finance and the world. His forecast includes more automation, fewer jobs and the emergence of central bank digital currencies.

A recent report from banking regulators says the digital assets pose too big a risk to the financial system to be issued by state-chartered entities that don’t have deposit insurance. Stablecoin issuers and others reject that claim and say regulators are discouraging competition.