Finance

Though home mortgage issuance has slumped in line with originations, new potential bank capital rules and increased consumer debt consolidation could boost activity for these two subsets in the secondary market.

Other regional banks are vowing to cut costs, but Huntington Bancshares CEO Steve Steinour says the Columbus, Ohio-based lender is well positioned to "play offense" in 2024.

"We'll be taking steps to offset expense pressures," CEO Curtis Farmer told analysts after the company reported an 11% year-over-year jump in costs and falling profits.

Executives say the $213 billion-asset company's strong credit performance in the third quarter positions it to pursue loan growth next year.

High deposit costs and low-yielding assets weighed on the company's net interest income, which fell to its weakest level since the first quarter of 2017. But Key executives predicted that a turnaround is coming soon.

Six weeks after unveiling a broad restructuring plan, the North Carolina bank said it has already taken several steps to lower expenses, and that various cost-reduction initiatives are on parallel paths.

Consumers with Discover cards spent less on travel and everyday purchases, but more on entertainment, driving loan growth in the third quarter. The company also benefited from the Fed's enforcement of online debit-routing rules, but these boons couldn't offset investor concerns over its issues with the FDIC and its CEO search.

Questions about how it will be implemented and whether the rest of the market will follow the agency's lead make the expense involved difficult to estimate.

Worried about the economy and new Fed rules on capital, the bank wants to hang onto its money just in case, CFO Daryl Bible told investors as he outlined second-quarter earnings.

The Rhode Island-based bank is bolstering its cash position in the face of worries about office loans, stricter capital requirements for regional lenders and the possibility of economic shock from overseas conflicts.