Expense management

The recent earnings season shined a light on community bankers’ tactical moves. Here’s a look at what some institutions are planning in coming months.

After a bogus-accounts scandal spooked new clients and crimped profitability, Wells Fargo may eliminate more branches and dismiss staff.

Once focused mainly on growth, the New York-based small-business lender said it will lay off employees and cut other expenses in an effort to become profitable. The moves are a sign of waning patience among investors in the once-frothy sector.

The New Jersey company's profit growth was constrained by an 11% increase in compensation and benefits and an 85% jump in consulting fees tied to compliance and other issues.

The Cincinnati bank's profit-improvement plan is as detailed as it gets, but there is an argument to be made it is heavy on metrics and light on vision.

Merger-related expenses cut into the Pittsburgh company's earnings, though management is excited about growth opportunities in North Carolina.

The Cincinnati company’s 1Q profits were hurt as it scaled back in key consumer and commercial credits, paid higher severance and saw fee income fall.

Executives at BB&T, KeyCorp and Citizens are milking commercial lending niches and balancing cost control with new investments while waiting for more rate hikes to fatten margins.

New boss Andy Cecere's first year on the job will likely be defined by how he tackles the challenges in front of him, including keeping the company’s highly watched efficiency ratio in check and managing pitfalls in auto-lease financing.

Wintrust’s mortgage revenues fell in the first quarter, but net interest income picked up the slack.