Expense management

CEO Michael Corbat and CFO Mark Mason dodged questions from analysts about how much time and money Citigroup expects to spend to address recent enforcement actions.

Several companies said this week they’re slashing expenses as the economy limps along. Others would prefer to keep investing in new technologies and hold off on moves like branch closings to better gauge which changes in consumer behavior will stick.

“What COVID has done for us is it has showed us where to prioritize investments,” William Demchak said at an industry conference in discussing the Pittsburgh company's plans to speed up the shift to digital banking.

The reductions will affect less than 1% of Citi's global workforce, and with recent hiring the overall headcount probably won’t decline, the company said.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced teachers and students to move classroom learning online this year, school districts and educators suddenly faced a raft of challenges around handling new expenses for tools needed for cyber education.

The industry's return on average assets has already dropped substantially and there are predictions that could get even worse. Many institutions will have to deal with elevated provisions for loan losses and expense management to survive.

With the coronavirus pandemic intensifying and hopes for a quick economic recovery fading, banks large and small are reducing headcounts, shuttering branches, shedding office space and generally trying to trim expenses wherever they can.

The North Carolina regional created by the merger of BB&T and SunTrust is saving money by shedding office space and reworking vendor contracts, but it was forced to put its systems integration on hold for up to a year to prioritize tech upgrades tied to the pandemic.

The Wisconsin banking company recently agreed to subscribe to five solar gardens to trim power costs at 39 branches. The move, part of a broader sustainability push, also could benefit rural communities, Associated said.

The company said it had cut 20 positions and found a way to shed 35,000 square feet of office space by the end of 2020.