Commercial banking

Data suggests that the beleaguered commercial real estate market isn't going to get worse. And now that banks have had time to build reserves, any losses they do take shouldn't be disastrous, analysts say.

Aron Levine, the Canadian bank's new U.S. president, said BMO intends to invest in technology and spend more on branches. The company's moves, which also include the recent combination of its U.S. businesses, are part of a plan to boost its return on equity.

Erik Porter will succeed Lisa Oliver as president and CEO of the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod; Gary Hall and Sobani Warner are named co-presidents of Siebert Williams Shank; Faiz Ahmad and Mike Joo will lead Bank of America's global investment banking unit; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The Ohio bank bought DTS Connex to expand its cash management services for businesses with multiple locations, like retailers, restaurants and health care providers.

Big banks with the strongest financial performance varied in asset size, geographies and services.

Each of the top-performing banks with more than $50 billion of assets used their own mix of revenue streams to drive performance.

As regional bank consolidation heats up, Comerica, First Horizon and Banc of California are among the institutions that analysts see as the most likely targets for takeovers.

Junk bonds made Michael Milken the most important and richest person on Wall Street. But they caused many large thrifts to fail. Had he listened to his professors and pursued his Ph.D. in 1970, his legacy might have been different.

Industry veteran Chris Ward has been tapped to lead the Canadian bank's new U.S. small-business banking department. "It's absolutely a growth opportunity," he said.

Jay Brogdon, currently president of the Arkansas bank, will take the helm at the beginning of next year.

The largest bank in Missouri, which completed the acquisition of Heartland Financial USA early this year, is on track to switch Heartland's systems over to UMB's systems in mid-October. The conversion should help realize "the next big slug" of expense savings, UMB's CFO said.

The Dallas-based bank is the subject of a scathing new report by HoldCo Asset Management, which says it should take advantage of current market conditions to sell itself. The investment firm accused Comerica's management of making poor decisions and failing to address its lagging stock price.

The Pennsylvania-based bank will continue to lean into its digital assets payment platform now that the GENIUS Act has become law. Its incoming CEO says he's not concerned about new entrants.

Though loan growth was soft in the second quarter, the Raleigh, North Carolina, regional bank is seeing some hope for a second-half pickup. Meanwhile, it benefited from a 2% gain in net interest income.

The Long Island-based company's second-quarter net loss was the seventh consecutive quarter in which it has reported a net loss. CEO Joseph Otting remained optimistic Friday about the bank's future, saying it should return to profitability in the fourth quarter.

Eagle Bancorp in Maryland took a major quarterly loss due to challenges in its office loan portfolio. It's one of many banks working to trim down their commercial real estate loan books.

The two Southeast banks agreed to combine in a transaction valued at $8.6 billion. Synovus CEO Kevin Blair would be chief executive of the combined bank, but a slim majority of board members would come from Pinnacle.

Flagstar Bank wants to merge its holding company into the bank, which would cut $15 million in annual expenses and eliminate regulatory oversight by the Federal Reserve, leaving the OCC as its primary regulator. The bank's CEO, Joseph Otting, is a former comptroller of the currency.

Among banks with between $10 billion and $50 billion of assets, those that targeted narrow lending markets rose to the top.

The Evansville, Indiana-based bank has hired Tim Burke to oversee commercial and community banking, along with wealth, credit and marketing.