Regional banks

The parent company of Fulton Bank announced the creation of three new management roles and promoted existing employees into those jobs. The changes follow the recent hiring of an outsider to be CFO.

The Cleveland-based regional bank continues to benefit from strength in investment banking, though concerns about stalled loan growth emerged as CEO Chris Gorman described demand as tepid.

The New York-based bank says it will push its concentration of commercial real estate loans below 400% of risk-based capital over the next two years and focus more on C&I.

Investors have hammered the New Jersey-based lender following the turmoil at New York Community Bancorp. But Valley executives say there are key differences between the two real estate-focused banks, and they express confidence that the bank's underwriting will hold up again this cycle.

Valley National, based in Morristown, New Jersey, has a high exposure to commercial-property loans relative to its peers. The bank reported that almost half its $50.2 billion loan book was in commercial real estate as of Dec. 31, with heavy exposure to New York, Florida and New Jersey.

The Cleveland-based regional bank was not well positioned for the sharp rise in interest rates last year. But executives say the year ahead will be different, pointing to strong credit quality and a repricing of Key's securities portfolio.

The Dallas bank's full-year results showed progress toward its long-term strategic goals despite a fourth-quarter drop-off in net interest income heavily tied to its mortgage business, executives said on an earnings call.

Proposed capital rules aimed at bigger institutions will force regional and larger community banks to consider ways to grow or seek an exit strategy, bankers and analysts predict.

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.