Regional banks

The pilot could help the agency improve its image after past criticism of slow responses to catastrophes.

A decision to slash the equity required for most change-in-ownership loans could help the small-business lending program top its recent record.

While technology will let many banks cut staff and reduce the size of branches, factors such as geography, customer demographics and strategic direction will ultimately shape the look and feel of future offices.

It’s good to be a business lender with a long contact list. Loan growth is weak and the talent pool has been shrinking, so banks big and small are paying top dollar to get an edge.

The differences in business model between commercial banks and universal banks should not be ignored as Congress works to recalibrate the regulatory regime.

Freeing a number of big banks from enhanced oversight, including capital requirements, could motivate CEOs to pursue deals. Still, other impediments could prevent a flood of large mergers.

The planned sale will also include $70 million of loans in southern California.

Sterling Bancorp in New York is determined to turn Astoria Financial's largely residential operation into a commercial powerhouse. While investors are skeptical, CEO Jack Kopnisky has proven in the past that such an ambitious plan is doable.

Outsiders gained access to customer information at Southern National Bancorp of Virginia using a malicious email. Other financial institutions, meanwhile, are implementing policies in hopes of avoiding the same fate.

Fintechs should learn to value risk management — and the necessary bureaucracy that comes with it, bankers said this week in defending themselves again criticism that they are a pain in the neck to work with.

Mobile banking, oddly enough, is redefining the role of call center agents as customers handle routine tasks on their smartphones and reach out for help with bigger-picture questions.

The heads of some of the largest U.S. banks are calling for a new security-focused mindset among executives, better forms of ID and collective action in the aftermath of the Equifax breach.

The companies' recently launched partnership furthers the argument that the banking and fintech industries might be better served working together rather than competing.

Ira Robbins, the CEO-in-waiting at Valley National Bancorp, will have to complete a major acquisition, make the bank more competitive on returns and costs and tackle other difficult tasks after taking over for Gerald Lipkin.

Top banking executives called the Republican tax plan an important first step toward tax reform and economic stimulus, but questions immediately arose about whether trade-offs and complexities in the bill would undercut it.

Home equity lines could double over the next six years. Some banks are actively pursuing the consumer credit opportunity, whereas many still feel stung by the housing crisis, unimpressed by home equity’s comeback so far or fearful of nonbank competition and fraud.

The Alabama bank's provision for loan losses rose 59%, but it still reported an 8% increase in 3Q profits thanks to stronger margins and fee income.

Many institutions have delayed planning for a big change to reserve accounting despite a belief that they should start testing systems and methodologies next year.

If Congress changes the $50 billion-asset threshold for systemically important financial institutions, big banks could take it as a signal that regulators would be amenable to larger deals.

That loan growth helped boost the San Antonio bank's profit by 16.5% year over year.