Financial institutions

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.

Bank M&A started off with a bang this year, with eight of the 10 biggest deals taking place in the first six months. North Carolina and Florida accounted for six deals on the list.

Davis, who stepped down as CEO a year ago, will retire as the company's chairman and as an employee at the end of 2017. Umpqua will then become one of the few publicly traded banking companies with a female chair.

The $50 billion threshold replaced by a formula, but bill must be reconciled with Senate version; Fed, FDIC say the eight big banks still have work to do.

Despite increasing bipartisan support to remove asset cutoffs for "systemically important financial institutions," Congress will likely settle for an asset threshold increase.

A House bill would deregulate both domestic and foreign banks that control trillions of dollars of combined assets, reducing financial stability and tying the hands of regulators to reapply heightened standards in the future.

The purchase will significantly increase Hancock's assets under management and administration.