Mixed earnings results at Wells Fargo and the ongoing merger proposal between Discover Financial Services and Capital One Financial are creating added pressure for investors.

The Cleveland-based regional bank continues to benefit from strength in investment banking, though concerns about stalled loan growth emerged as CEO Chris Gorman described demand as tepid.

For at least the fifth consecutive quarter, the Providence, Rhode Island, company increased its allowance for credit losses on general office loans, which continue to be a problem area for banks.

The Detroit-based auto lender has been dealing with an imbalance in deposit costs and loan yield since rates rapidly rose. Now, the bank's fixed-rate loans from before are maturing.

The credit card company is seeing fewer customers fall behind on their payments. But with lower-income consumers still being pinched by inflation, Synchrony isn't loosening its lending standards.

Morgan Stanley became the latest big Wall Street bank to tap the U.S. investment-grade market Wednesday after reporting earnings, as strong investor demand helps lenders borrow at lower yields than would have been possible at the start of the month.

The Minneapolis-based company reported an 18% increase in quarterly net income thanks largely to slimmed-down operating expenses. It also notched modest increases in loans and deposits, while asset quality issues remained manageable.

CEO Ron O'Hanley touted an "encouraging financial performance" at the $326 billion-asset custody giant due to asset inflows and a jump in income from securities and loans.

The Wall Street investment bank saw its profits rebound in the second quarter as last year's decline in mergers continued to thaw. "The game will have to go on because there's just been so much activity that has been suppressed," said CEO Ted Pick.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank saw profits and net interest income dip in the second quarter, but made up lost revenue through investment banking fees.

The Pittsburgh-based superregional bank reported a small quarter-over-quarter advance in net interest income, and it expects loan growth to pick up in the second half of the year. PNC, which announced job cuts last year, also said that it has identified an additional $25 million in cost savings.

The investment banking giant said that it will "moderate" its pace of share repurchases as it continues to talk to the Federal Reserve, which recently increased its stress capital buffer from 5.5% to 6.4%.

Two days after the megabank was hit with $136 million of fines, Citi executives said they aren't changing the company's full-year expense guidance. Citi has 30 days to submit a plan to regulators showing that the bank has allocated enough resources to achieve compliance in a timely and sustainable manner.

Investment banking fees shot up at the nation's largest bank, thanks to rebounds in M&A and the equity capital markets segment. And despite higher credit costs in the company's card business, a top bank executive expressed confidence in the health of U.S. consumers.

The San Francisco bank's interest expenses continue to rise as depositors switch to higher-yielding options. At the same time, soft loan demand from business customers is putting a lid on how much interest Wells is collecting from borrowers.

The New York-based company saw assets under custody and management jump, driving strong increases in both fees and overall revenues for the quarter ending June 30.

Higher funding costs, lower loan demand and the potential for increased credit costs continue to drag on the sector heading into second-quarter earnings season.

With the Federal Reserve holding interest rates at elevated levels through the first half of the year, analysts are sharpening their collective focus on possible fallout from high deposit and borrowing costs.

Publicly traded companies are showing signs of improvement, but it may take some time until venture capital funding for fintechs recovers.

Investors homed in on the benefits of positive economic data for lenders, rather than the possibility of a strong job market delaying interest rate cuts that would help to lower deposit costs and boost credit demand.