Strategic planning

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.

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.

Thomas Nides, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and longtime Morgan Stanley executive, will take over the megabank's public affairs division as its work to fix regulatory concerns continues. He succeeds Bill Daley, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, who recently announced his retirement from Wells.

Revenue challenges are driving the Utah bank's plan to reduce expenses, according to CEO Harris Simmons. "I talk to our peers, and everybody's looking for ways to cut costs," he said.

Fraser has a plan to reduce the number of management layers at Citi, shrink its workforce, speed up decision-making and give herself more control of the bank's five core businesses. "It's going to make some of our people very uncomfortable," she said.

At least four of CEO Jane Fraser's senior deputies got new roles in the shakeup, which will result in a number of job cuts.

The North Carolina bank, which has been facing pressure to curb spending, rolled out a plan that includes job cuts, the consolidation of businesses and lower technology spending. Analysts wonder whether it will soothe investor frustration over Truist's sagging stock price.

Some analysts and investors want the North Carolina bank to make big changes to meet financial targets, which they say aren't being met more than four years after the BB&T-SunTrust merger. The critics will be closely watching a presentation by top Truist executives on Monday.

Chief Executive Rob Holmes, who launched an attempted turnaround shortly after taking the reins of the Dallas-based bank in 2021, is resisting the lure of share buybacks. Some investors may be growing impatient, but Holmes says the investments he's made are starting to pay off.

The Canadian bank initially told investors the acquisition would result in more than $350 million in cost savings. But a recent analysis suggests that number could be even higher.

The country's Big Six banks are seen as likely to continue struggling as they contend with deteriorating consumer finances and rising internal costs.

The New York megabank is considering splitting its institutional clients group division into three parts following the upcoming departure of top executive Paco Ybarra, the Financial Times reported. The heads of the three segments would report directly to CEO Jane Fraser.

Ybarra, who leads the megabank's sprawling institutional clients group, plans to depart in the first half of next year. Citi says it's assessing how to allocate his responsibilities.

The five-year employment agreement with CEO Bryan Jordan follows a failed acquisition effort by TD Bank. The deal suggests that Jordan is seen as critical as the Memphis, Tennessee-based bank charts an independent course in the coming years.

Following regulatory stress tests, three midsize institutions expect to be required to maintain larger stress capital buffers. The reverse is true for four of the nation's largest banks.

The Federal Reserve's stress tests suggested that larger banks are prepared to handle a severe economic downturn, though regional banks fared somewhat worse than their big-bank counterparts. Banks are expected to start revealing their latest capital return plans on Friday.

Pride month is the perfect time to take a hard look at the discrimination that LGBTQ people face in the financial services industry, particularly when it comes to obtaining credit.