The moves are aimed at beefing up consumer lending and attracting deposits in markets where Citi has no branch presence.

The bank says it has restored access, but it hasn’t explained how a fire-suppression system at one facility could cause a nationwide outage across all of its channels, or how its system as a whole could have been left so vulnerable to the incident.

The company’s investment in a small business lender is said to be the biggest ever in Europe; the merger may raise questions from regulators, spur more mergers.

The merged bank would set up an innovation and technology center in Charlotte as part of its bid to compete better against the largest institutions and fintech startups.

Customers reported being unable to access online banking, mobile banking or their debit cards.

Chime, a financial technology startup that offers online banking services, is close to raising $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Community banks generally make digital a consumer play, but TransPecos Bank, with its BankMD brand, is focusing on doctor practices, which tend to weather economic downturns well.

Thanks to big tech companies, the business world is moving to third-party platforms, or online marketplaces where buyers pull sellers' products off digital shelves. A growing number of financial institutions — including BBVA, Citi and community banks like Eastern — say they can't afford to sit out the trend.

Gatsby, which has built an app to let novice investors buy puts or calls, has received funding from Barclays, Radius Bank and others. Radius is considering offering the service to its customers.

The combination of their convenient branch networks and strong digital offerings makes large, national banks tough to beat in dispensing financial guidance, consumers say.