Fee income

Executives at Citizens Financial and Regions Financial said they plan to make policy changes that will reduce their reliance on the controversial but already dwindling charges.

Ally and Huntington are the latest banks to take steps that will reduce revenue from customers who spend money they don’t have. The moves come at a time when technological, regulatory and social forces are converging to encourage change.

The online bank's decision to stop charging the fees is part of a broader reassessment across the industry. Ally had waived overdraft fees early in the pandemic and has historically been less reliant on them than many other institutions.

With rock-bottom rates suppressing interest income, some buyers are looking beyond traditional M&A and striking deals for asset managers, insurance firms and other businesses that generate the bulk of their revenue from fees.

At Comerica and Synovus, higher fees from cards, mortgage banking and other sources helped to offset declines in net interest income.

Some institutions for more than a year have reduced or eliminated overdraft and funds transfer fees to help members hard hit by the economic downturn, but it's unclear how much longer they can keep coasting on other sources of noninterest income.

The San Antonio company will no longer charge fees on transactions of $100 or less that take checking account balances into negative territory, as long as the customer has a $500 monthly direct deposit set up.

Business First Bancshares is counting on its acquisition of Smith Shellnut Wilson to help it offer more advisory services to commercial clients.

UMB Financial’s success in aviation financing has boosted fee income, and the Missouri company has opened an office in Dublin — a hub for airplane sales and leases that could get busier as the airline industry restructures.

Acquiring AmeriHome would provide the fee revenue the Phoenix company seeks to compensate for low interest rates and tepid commercial loan demand. The deal also would allow it to reinvest billions of dollars of excess liquidity.