Branch banking

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, which is focusing its growth push in the Southeast, is also planning to renovate 300 existing offices as part of an effort to attract more mass-affluent customers.

Washington Trust Bank is executing a slow-but-steady de novo expansion inside the I-5 corridor on the western side of its home state. Its newest branch is slated to open this fall in Tacoma.

The Ohio-based bank opened its first branch in Alabama, with plans to open 14 more over the next three years.

Last year, scammers tricked 11,000 people — many elderly — to send them money through ATMs for Bitcoin and other crypto. The payments are often irreversible.

A threat group used physical implants and evasive malware to infiltrate ATM networks and attempt fraudulent withdrawals. Here are their tactics and techniques.

The San Antonio-based company plans to remain in state borders, but sees opportunity for growth in major markets.

The continued investment in branches is a continued investment in bankers. A well-trained, motivated banker turns a physical location into a relationship hub.

Kate Luft, a former chief of staff for Citi CEO Jane Fraser, is now running the company's U.S. retail banking business. In her first interview since getting the job, Luft discussed what banks can learn from airlines and the advantages that incumbents have over fintechs.

CEO Brian Moynihan plans to keep directing some of the bank's excess capital into new market expansions, he said Wednesday. "Organic growth is the reality," given the bank's already dominant U.S. market share, he said.

The modern bank branch is not a museum piece. It is a platform. And in the hands of forward-thinking leaders, it is ready to lead the next era of the banking industry's evolution.