Economy

On Dec. 31, 2018. Dollars in thousands.

With the candidates still introducing themselves to voters and honing their message, little has been said about the financial industry.

When M&T Bank was acquiring Wilmington Trust in 2011, it tapped into Abigail Mrozinski's deep understanding of its newly added wealth business to help the merger go smoothly.

Overhauling Citi Private Bank's capital markets business in the Americas required finding someone who not only had expertise, but also had the ability to lead while growing revenue. The natural pick was Kristen Bitterly.

Provenance Blockchain, recently spun off from Mike Cagney's Figure Technologies, says it can help lenders trim 70% of mortgage settlement expenses through speedier processing and paperwork reduction.

With the candidates still introducing themselves to voters and honing their message, little has been said about the financial industry.

Readers respond to the debates over economic inequality and CEO pay disparities, weigh in on FDIC board membership, consider LendingClub exiting small-business lending and more.

New FHFA Director Mark Calabria isn't just charting a future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also fixing problems resulting from the "qualified mortgage" exemption for the GSEs and taking a "deep dive" into problems in the mortgage servicing market.

The Wisconsin bank's pending acquisition of 32 Huntington branches would boost its ability to make more loans, but like other banks it said deposit costs are cutting into margins.

The San Antonio bank reported 6.8% growth in loans, but Phil Green said he was unwilling to match overly generous prices and underwriting terms that he is seeing in the market.

The artificial intelligence engine will handle simple queries directly, feed information to customer service reps for others and analyze all calls.

As with the debate over guns, climate change and other social issues, banks may find themselves pressured to do more to address the country's wealth gap.

Investors seem to be betting that a long-rumored sale of the Dallas company is on hold now that it has named a new CEO, but analysts say it remains an attractive takeover target for a larger regional bank.

Now that the Cincinnati company recently completed its first bank acquisition in over a decade, CEO Greg Carmichael is pushing ahead on tech hires and expansion outside its Midwestern core.

The Dallas company finally made the move that had long been expected: Curtis Farmer succeeds Ralph Babb as chief executive. However, Farmer will still report to Babb, who stays on as executive chairman.

Money managers, which are critical to the success of State Street and Northern Trust, are aggressively moving cash into higher-rate products.

Fifth Third bought MB Financial in the quarter and benefited from increases in corporate banking revenues and a slight improvement in credit quality.

The Salt Lake City bank saw growth across all lending categories and an improvement in credit quality. It also said it has finished the second of three stages in its multiyear conversion to new core-banking technology.

The bank is investing more in its digital capabilities, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.

The fintech company, which was forced to rebrand its cash management product last year after misleading marketing caused a backlash, is seeking a national bank charter.