Corporate finance

An uptick in commercial borrowers’ credit line utilization rates bodes well for loan growth in 2022, PNC Financial Services Group CEO William Demchak said Tuesday.

While money market fee waivers ate into the company’s revenue last quarter, as low interest rates led asset managers to make concessions to customers, executives predict a turnaround in 2022 after the Federal Reserve starts monetary tightening.

The New York bank attributed the gains to its aggressive hiring of banking teams on both coasts and robust loan demand from private equity and venture capital firms.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is nearing the end of her organizational overhaul after deciding to cut loose retail-banking operations in Mexico. She will make the case at an upcoming investor day that the company is on the verge of producing stronger shareholder returns.

Auto loans, credit cards and corporate lending all showed strength in the fourth quarter, and the San Francisco bank predicts more consumers and businesses will borrow this year.

Following the recent resignations of the San Francisco bank’s co-CEO and chief operating officer, executives sought to project stability during an earnings call Friday. Employee morale is strong, and finding a leader who’s the right fit is more important than filling the job quickly, they said.

Shares fell sharply Friday after the company said spending increased 14% in the fourth quarter and will climb by another 8% in 2022. But CEO Jamie Dimon said the investments in marketing, technology and talent are necessary to ward off threats from traditional banks and upstart fintechs.

Overall the company reported fourth-quarter profits of $3.17 billion, which fell short of analysts' forecasts as borrowing declined on Citi-branded cards, fixed-income trading tumbled and one-time charges mounted.

Despite that year-over-year decline, the company beat analysts' expectations with fourth-quarter net income of $5.8 billion. Stronger commercial lending and lower expenses cushioned the blow in consumer credit.

The company's fourth-quarter trading revenue declined notably more than analysts had expected, while its business and consumer lending each dropped 1% year over year.

The payout will help the Delaware bank recover legal costs that stemmed from its 2010 purchase of Christiana Bank & Trust. It expects a 23-cent boost to earnings per share in the most recently completed quarter.

Standard Chartered has been handed a record fine by the U.K.’s top banking regulator after a spreadsheet error resulted in the emerging markets-focused lender overestimating its access to U.S. dollar funding.

Figure Technologies, the startup co-founded by Mike Cagney, created a platform to help private companies raise and trade equity using its blockchain technology.

Investment activity that takes place outside the banking system requires a new, broad-based set of global regulations to tackle inherent instability, the Bank for International Settlements said.

Bank of Montreal’s heavy focus on commercial lending is paying off as businesses in the U.S. and Canada ramp up borrowing. 

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is having a harder time keeping costs in check as inflation picks up and the lender invests in its domestic consumer franchise.

Toronto-Dominion Bank’s Canadian operation is getting a boost from a rebound in consumer spending and the continued strength of the country’s housing market. The company’s U.S. retail operations haven’t gained the same momentum as the Canadian division.

Higher interchange fees and a giveback of loan-loss provisions helped banks overcome rising expenses and other headwinds in the third quarter, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Quarterly Banking Profile.