Expense management

Past is not prologue, and a successful strategy for becoming a top-performing bank in 2020 is very different from what it might have been just six months ago.

Faced with limited growth opportunities and potentially mounting loan losses, banks are getting aggressive — and creative — to boost profits.

Expenses soared in the rush to deploy emergency loans to small businesses, and now Bank of America may need to delay some investments if it hopes to meet cost targets, CEO Brian Moynihan said.

The Ohio company said the decision reflects branch overlap and lower customer usage of the locations being shuttered.

Not everything is in decline. T&E approval processes need to be ready for spikes in invoices for streaming content, tele-meetings and remote technology rather than air travel and hotels, said AppZen's Uri Kogan.

The Georgia bank could rely more on drive-through-only branches, trim office space and reassess staffing levels after the coronavirus crisis, according to Kessel Stelling.

First Horizon still plans to complete its merger with Iberiabank on time, CEO Bryan Jordan said during the Tennessee company's earnings call.

Executives say they can still meet their goal of $480 million in cost savings this year from the combination of BB&T and SunTrust despite unexpected expenses, unless the economy fails to rebound quickly.

Cobalt Credit Union is currently a state-chartered institution but is looking to once again become a federal one because of Iowa state taxes.

Margins will be squeezed after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates earlier this month to counteract the economic fallout from the coronavirus.