Practice and client management

Small business clients are important to financial institutions and expected to drive growth. But to achieve that, banks must teach them to be stronger consumers.

Officials are looking into the banking giant's anti-money laundering measures with clients outside the U.S.

The island state's biggest banks — which reported lower profits in the third quarter — say it is too soon to fully assess the economic fallout from the deadly August wildfires. The rebuilding effort could boost near-term deposit growth and long-term loan demand, they said.

Customers cite a large mix of reasons for why they do or do not trust specific financial institutions.

Neglect of the employees who personally interact with customers can undermine even the most carefully crafted business strategy.

The San Antonio bank reported a 14% increase in noninterest expenses and a 7% jump in loans. "We're not trying to be successful by shrinking," said CEO Phil Green.

Pick, 54, a co-president and three-decade veteran of the firm, will be elevated to the top role in January and join the board, the bank said. Gorman, 65, will stay on as executive chairman.

The Dallas company, which is in the midst of a four-year business overhaul, is facing a margin squeeze in the coming quarters. But even as analysts express skepticism, company executives aren't budging from the profitability goals they set two years ago.

"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.

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.

The two megabanks continue to shrink their branch networks, with BofA planning to close 20 locations and Wells recently shuttering 15. Both banks are also opening new branches in certain markets.

Executives of the $405 billion-asset bank say that they have completed 40% of a cost-cutting strategy begun earlier this year.

Mark Smith, most recently head of the firm's treasury and trade solutions division in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will take on the treasurer role on an interim basis. 

Jane Fraser defended Citigroup's recently announced organizational overhaul and specific performance targets, saying the plan is different from prior restructurings because it's designed to fundamentally change how the company operates.

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank expects to save $325 million next year as it reduces its staff by 4%. Executives said the cuts are necessary because revenue has fallen amid a surge in interest rates and a decline in loan volumes.

The consulting giant's annual global banking review highlights a stark trend: Over a seven-year period, more than 70% of the net increase in financial assets ended up not on U.S. banks' balance sheets, but instead at insurance and pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, in private capital markets and elsewhere.

Jeffrey Brown, who's been Ally Financial's top executive for nearly nine years, plans to leave the company by early next year. His exit comes as deteriorating credit quality and rising interest rates are biting into Ally's profits.

Tradeshift Holdings has dismissed its co-founder Christian Lanng due to "serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment" and "gross misconduct on multiple grounds," the company says. Lanng denies the allegations.

Chubb's Banks and the Digital Wallet Race: The Embedded Insurance Strategy looks to gauge how fintechs and banks view embedded insurance.

Activist investor Abbott Cooper, who has been locked in a battle with management at AmeriServ Financial for more than a year, plans to nominate former Amalgamated Financial head Keith Mestrich in a bid to end the impasse.