Branch management

Wise bank managers make sure that they are training employees for their next roles, and creating a deep bench of versatile talent.

Bank of Montreal is raising the minimum wage for its U.S. branch and contact-center employees to $20 an hour, its second such pay bump in less than a year, as companies fight for workers in a tight labor market.

Bankers say they're putting up with behavior from entry-level workers that never would have been tolerated in the past because it's so hard to fill positions. Those compromises can undermine corporate culture.

It’s easy — but pointless — to lament the havoc that the economy has wreaked on performance metrics lately. Instead, draw up an opportunistic new plan, urge your employees to focus on execution and worry less about what rivals are doing.

A severe cold snap in the state has tested financial institutions unaccustomed to such weather-related disruption.

Despite limiting on-site visits and adding more self-service channels, the industry is forging ahead with plans for hundreds of new or expanded brick-and-mortar locations.

The New Canaan, Conn., company said it will record a pretax expense of $3.9 million in the fourth quarter related to branch and office closings, severance payments and the end of a vendor contract.

Bank and credit union groups are pushing to include the industry’s front-line workers in the next priority group, but even as a recommendation is coming soon from a CDC advisory panel, the decision ultimately will be made state by state.

Some banks and credit unions boarded up branches and closed early in anticipation of unrest tied to the tense presidential race.

Some banks and credit unions boarded up branches and closed early in anticipation of unrest tied to the tense presidential race.