Fee income

Entrepreneurs often call fees a drawback of their current financial institution, according to research from Arizent. Banks should focus on developing long-term relationships with these customers, rather than charging for every service, experts say.

The Providence, Rhode Island, bank expects to finalize its purchase of 80 HSBC Bank branches on Friday and complete a systems conversion over the weekend. Its pending deal for Investors Bancorp is on track to go through early next quarter, Chief Financial Officer John Woods said.

Consumer advocates have long wanted to restrict banks' ability to collect overdraft fees. The Empire State's new law represents a small but consequential breakthrough as they push for nationwide reform.

The sale to the Florida-based insurer Brown & Brown would give Berkshire Hills Bancorp an infusion of capital that it intends to invest in more profitable businesses, executives said.

Signed Thursday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the new law requires state-chartered banks to pay checks in the order they are received or from smallest to largest. The bill comes as banks nationally are revamping their overdraft policies.

The Rhode Island company has been snapping up banks and nonbanks alike. It says that buying Willamette Management Associates in Oregon will augment its 2017 purchase of Western Reserve Partners.

The best performers in our annual ranking of banks with $10 billion to $50 billion of assets benefited from a big lending push. But like their peers, the top 10 as a group saw their profitability slip last year compared with 2019.

The Pittsburgh company offset relatively flat revenue and lending in the second quarter with strong service charges, wealth management fees and a $1.1 million reserve release.

The Rhode Island bank endured a sharp decline in fee income from home loans, which had spiked earlier in the pandemic. But CEO Bruce Van Saun says the company is well positioned as the refinancing boom fades and the home purchase market becomes more important.

The bank is planning to make product changes and roll out new digital tools that will allow customers to avoid the charges, according to CEO Kevin Blair.