Finance

Expenses at Canada's second-biggest bank are higher than they should be, and the layoffs are one part of a plan to control costs going forward, executives say. Other Canadian banks including CIBC, Scotiabank and BMO have also shed workers this year.

Anne Marie Pippin, associate director in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Office of Financial Technology, weighs the forces shaping the industry's future.

Los Angeles-based City National Bank recorded a $247 million loss during a tumultuous final quarter of its fiscal year. But executives at the bank's Canadian parent company say they expect a return to profitability in the first quarter.

The Canadian bank reported a 70% decline in profits at its U.S. commercial banking and wealth management unit in the most recent quarter and boosted reserves amid distress in the commercial real estate market.

The move gives stockholders a greater portion of recurring, predictable income as private equity asset sales stagnate due to higher interest rates and jitters over a potential recession. In exchange, the firms' dealmakers will get a bigger slice of the gains when their investments pay off.

Total loans at U.S. banks with less than $10 billion of assets grew by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. That was a slowdown from the previous quarter, and concerns about the viability of commercial real estate lending could dampen activity further.

The BSBY interest rate benchmark was originally envisioned as a successor to the once-ubiquitous Libor rate. But it failed to gain much traction, and Bloomberg now plans to shut it down next year.

The move by the company's new CEO is designed to promote greater network effects and benefits for paying members. Bank CEOs say the network helps smaller banks compete.

In Canada and the U.K., borrowers can take mortgages with them from home to home. Some say this feature could unlock the U.S. housing market, but others say it would be more trouble than it's worth.

Capping interest rates may be popular with consumers, and ultimately voters, but doing so would actually hurt those advocates are trying to help.

A national interest rate cap of 36% would protect consumers from predatory practices that exploit their desperation and would level the playing field with responsible lenders who offer fair and transparent products.

Young adults exiting the foster care system often lack the documents and relationships they need to engage with financial products early on. Some advocates, including many in the Texas Legislature, are working to change that.

Some proposed changes to uniform mortgage-backed securities, apartment loans and derivatives will be made while one involving credit reports and scores was pulled.

Bankers are hopeful that several factors could strengthen profits next year, including higher loan demand and more stable funding costs as the Fed holds the line on — or even lowers — interest rates.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's report on the system at 100 years old signals major shifts in both policy and structure are on the horizon.

In her first remarks since the release of a sweeping report on the banks, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson urges them to strengthen underwriting and communication with their members' regulators.

The Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision noted that so-called basis trades by hedge funds are highly leveraged and use minimal haircuts. He added that much of this activity is concentrated among just a few funds.

Share prices climbed sharply amid increased optimism about the outlook for interest rates. Regional banks that got hammered earlier this year were among the biggest winners.

The 10 largest U.S. banks based on most assets had combined total earnings of more than $40 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

But high costs and any downturn in the economy could weigh on lenders and their commercial borrowers in coming months, economists caution.