Deposits

Net interest income has surged thanks to rising rates, but noninterest income has lagged as trading revenue has weakened, refi demand has softened and fees from deposit service charges have barely budged. Is this the new normal?

NewDominion, which has completed an improbable turnaround, is the last community bank based in Charlotte, N.C.

Banks have been in full cost-cutting mode in recent years, but with profits expected to increase substantially as a result of tax reform, all analysts and investors want to know is how they plan to spend their tax savings.

Changing political and economic forces are raising new questions about deployment of tax savings and the cost of deposits, while old concerns about cost-cutting, credit quality and risk-taking persist or return.

Carter Bank & Trust’s founder shunned internet banking and handled most executive duties himself. He died in April and his successor, Litz Van Dyke, is now working at breakneck speed to modernize this once-hidebound Virginia bank.

David Becker is trying to prove to investors that his Indiana bank can succeed over the long term. With the rise of online banking and fintech firms, Becker is a community banker worth watching in the new year.

Banks are looking for ways to capture and retain deposits as interest rates rise, including promotional offers and focusing on relationship banking.

For the first time in nearly nine years, an acquirer of a failed bank agreed to purchase only the institution’s insured deposits, making it likely that some customers will not recoup all of their uninsured funds.

Executives at small banks are wary about 2018 as concerns about lackluster loan demand, low yields and rising deposit prices abound.

It’s only early December, but bank CEOs’ comments this week about tax reform, their thirst for deposits, consumer lending initiatives, and challenges in commercial lending offer a sneak peek at what’s coming when earnings season begins next month.