Strategic planning

Arvest agreed to pay nearly $400 million in cash for a bank with 42 branches in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

The company says the tracking devices are a way to reduce office space and know when shared workstations are free, but "hot-desking" also raises questions about whether employees are being spied on.

Lynn Harton was finally named CEO of United Community Bank after a five-year apprenticeship, though Jimmy Tallent remains CEO of the parent company. The executives have long touted an ability to bounce ideas off each other as a reason for United's success.

Approval from the Federal Reserve is the last remaining hurdle for the $2.2 billion transaction.

In addition to typical industry challenges, family-owned banks also have to address generational leadership and estate planning at a time when an increasing number of their CEOs are looking to retire.

The Florida company will pay nearly $600 million to buy HCBF Holding and Sunshine Bancorp.

After posting a second quarter of revenue growth and with plans to return another $2 billion of cash to investors, departing boss Stuart Gulliver’s six-year turnaround of HSBC Holdings might finally be gathering momentum.

The Louisiana company, which recorded a large loan-loss provision to cover energy-related chargeoffs, also disclosed a new regulatory order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The new Citigold program for affluent customers is more than a product — it is the centerpiece of Citigroup's vision for the future, which will also rely on branch closures and sophisticated apps.

Various departments will be realigned or consolidated and staff will shrink by attrition in the agency’s first large-scale restructuring since 2003.

The Rhode Island bank plans to build out its fee income capabilities, expand C&I lending in the Southeast, renegotiate vendor contracts and take other steps to produce expense cuts and revenue enhancements of at least $90 million.

The Cincinnati company reaped the benefit of the latest round of interest rate hikes, as a higher net interest margin and lower costs helped overcome the drop in lending.

The Cleveland company, once criticized for an initial six-year forecast, now believes it will only take four years to rebuild its tangible book value.

The Portland, Ore., company outlined a plan to boost its return on tangible common equity to between 13-15% by 2020. More details will be provided by fall, executives said.

The regional bank reported an 8% gain in fee income and trimmed costs amid 1% loan growth.

Second-quarter profit improved modestly at Northern Trust as severance costs offset growth in trust and institutional services.

The Dallas company is in the middle of a dramatic turnaround after scaling back on energy loans and slashing expenses. Still, followers of the company seek assurances that the discipline will endure.

A yearlong effort to slash costs boosted profits at the Dallas company.

Announcing that a formerly free product or service will now cost money exposes banks to reputational risk. But the process doesn’t have to end in customers getting angry.

Plenty of CUs make mistakes in their strategic planning sessions, but -- even more alarming -- there are a number of credit unions that don't do any strategic planning at all.