Financial institutions

America's biggest banks just spent a week regaling shareholders about brighter days ahead, when tax cuts add billions of dollars to the firms' annual profits. About 8,000 people are getting left behind.

Merger- and tax-related charges took a bite out of fourth-quarter profits at the Cleveland company, but its CEO emphasized that a recent deal and tax reform are promising for growth.

The Mississippi company reported strong loan growth, even as it reduced exposure to energy-related borrowers. Higher revenue also helped Hancock lower its efficiency ratio.

Endeavor Bank, which raised nearly $27 million, will become the second new bank to open in California in the past year when it debuts next week.

Progressives have been setting off alarm bells this week over the Senate’s bill to ease some Dodd-Frank rules, but the changes are more modest than many assume.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari acknowledges that his plan to raise capital at the biggest banks and ease burden for smaller ones isn't likely to be enacted soon, but says its time will come.

The final plan to end "too big to fail" suggests that banks with less than $10 billion be subject to a much less complicated risk-based capital regime, akin to what was required in Basel I.

The elimination of a key deduction that had worked as a cap on CEO salaries, combined with investor pressure to maintain performance incentives, could lead to an upward drift in compensation for top executives of many banks.

Lower taxes mean more earnings, higher capital levels and perhaps a psychological boost for buyers.

The Boston mutual touted Deborah Jackson's role in promoting social justice and sustainability causes.

The Minneapolis bank is the first bank to join Community Reinvestment Fund's online service that matches small-business borrowers who don’t qualify for bank loans with community development financial institutions.

A key part of Well Fargo's Camels score was reduced, reflecting concerns about its management; Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank join the list of banks taking writedowns for deferred-tax assets.

Banks, especially smaller institutions, will be forced to find more ways to differentiate, Bryan Jordan said in an interview that also covered his company's recent purchase of Capital Bank and how tax reform will immediately stimulate the economy.

The banking industry braced for big changes with the election of President Trump, but the financial reform law has proven its staying power over the past year.

Changing political and economic forces are raising new questions about deployment of tax savings and the cost of deposits, while old concerns about cost-cutting, credit quality and risk-taking persist or return.

Commercial customers, including small businesses, seem ready to pay up to shift to faster, more sophisticated electronic invoicing and payments, and enterprising banks that provide them the technology to do so could find it lucrative.

A regulatory relief package is likely to come out of the Senate in the new year, and lawmakers could follow it up with a housing finance reform push. But the midterm elections could cause some reform initiatives to grind to a halt.

Increases in charitable donations will be more important than ever for bank reputations, as tax breaks and a lighter touch from financial regulators rekindle public anger about the financial crisis.

The GSEs are on their way to paying back the money they owed the government under the original bailout deal made at the height of the financial crisis, making 2018 an opportune time for an overhaul of the housing finance market.

The Trump administration's Financial Stability Oversight Council is likely to remove the systemically important financial institution label for the remaining nonbanks on the list, but it might consider adding other firms such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.