Finance

Touting strong first-quarter sales and revenue growth, CEO Alex Chriss committed to rebuilding the firm's languishing Xoom cross-border unit and driving more Pay with Venmo options.

But strong g-fees, a positive credit-loss adjustment and stable home prices bolstered results despite declines in mortgage purchases to lows not seen in some time.

Banks and other financial market participants have been keyed into the central bank's communications around monetary policy expectations. But in an unpredictable economy, the guidance doesn't always hit the mark.

The San Antonio-based bank said that loan growth, fueled in part by its expansion in key Texas markets, may compensate for pressure on deposits. It slashed the number of rate cuts it expects this year from five to two.

The Wisconsin banking company forecasted loan growth of 4% to 6% for the full year, driven by an expansion into new commercial and consumer credit lines as well as enduring economic strength in the Midwest.

The New York-based bank says it will push its concentration of commercial real estate loans below 400% of risk-based capital over the next two years and focus more on C&I.

Consumer spending slowed and charge-offs rose during the first quarter, but Bread Financial said a pending late-fee rule may not be as devastating to its revenue as the Columbus, Ohio-based firm initially feared.

The store-branded card issuer is raising annual percentage rates and adding fees for paper statements to compensate for lost revenue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new regulation is scheduled to take effect on May 14.

Strong consumer spending and cross-border activity drove an 8% increase in Visa's total payments volume during the first quarter of the year, although Asia's economic recovery is taking longer than expected.

The Connecticut bank —a regional traditionally regarded as a cautious lender — said nonperforming loans and leases rose 53% year-over-year. The uptick was in mostly the commercial-and-industrial loan space, although there was one nonperforming commercial real estate loan, executives said.