Canada’s fourth-largest bank is pressing ahead with big technology investments to cut costs and try to generate more revenue from existing customers, said Erminia Johannson, BMO’s head of personal and business banking for the U.S. and Canada.

Gemini Trust now offers a credit card and an uninsured savings account for bitcoin holders that pays 7.4% interest. It is the latest example of a cryptocurrency company marketing banklike products.

About 70% of Bank of America's customers are now “digitally active” and 17 million people use Erica, its virtual assistant. David Tyrie, who was recently promoted to head of digital, would like to get that rate up to 100%.

The administration’s initiative to offer universal high-speed internet service is a chance for bankers to provide underserved households with access to online financial education and low-cost digital accounts.

The Buffalo, N.Y., bank and Railz are working together to analyze accounting data to provide small firms with fresh insight into the health of their operations.

The bank will start with a mobile checking account for U.K. customers this year, followed by a full slate of products that could include credit cards, mortgages and car loans.

The Georgia company increased its target for annual expense cuts and new revenue to $175 million from $100 million. But executives warned that low interest rates and weaker mortgage volume, along with a need to invest in technology, will delay some of the bottom-line benefits.

The companies are reacting to an ongoing shift in customer preferences to digital channels.

The digital bank for students, which recently merged with a blank-check company, can tap its new source of capital to diversify and pursue more white-label partnerships.

The investments, part of a post-merger effort to wring out more profits, include new commercial and mortgage lending platforms.

Sandy Spring Bancorp also plans to shrink its network as more customers move to digital channels.

The company, poised to complete its purchase of Radius Bank, will enjoy new cross-selling opportunities, gain additional sources of fee income and capital as well as benefit from greater regulatory clarity, CEO Scott Sanborn says.

Todder Moning and Valerie Lancelle, who work in the bank’s innovation group, said they were especially impressed by demos of immersive technology, 5G and ambient computing.

Sigal Zarmi, who took on broader duties this fall, is modernizing the company's technological infrastructure and using reverse mentoring to combat bias in the workplace.

The online lender founded by Renaud Laplanche is now a full-fledged challenger bank that can offer generous checking terms because, it says, it can count on its loans for profits.

Robert Kafafian says he's hearing more MOE chatter now than at any time in his decades-long career as a consultant. He cited smaller banks' need to cut costs, improve tech offerings and compete with bigger lenders.

BBVA’s acquisition of Simple, the first neobank, was closely watched as a possible model for others in the industry. But the shutdown last week of Simple has again stirred a debate about whether upstarts and traditional players can ever fit together.

Revolut Ltd., one of Europe’s largest startups, has asked U.K. regulators for a full banking license to fuel expansion beyond its fintech roots.

Felix Todd, formerly of Regions Financial, says "the excitement is authentic" at the New York community development bank, which has a reputation for being both innovative and purpose-driven.

Silvergate and Avanti are among the banks pioneering the incorporation of smart contracts, cryptocurrencies and other cutting-edge instruments into mainstream financial services.