Strategic plans

The Federal Reserve and OCC approved the company's plan to buy Independent Bank Group in Texas, putting the deal on track to close early next year as expected. In an atmosphere of M&A delays for banks, the deal is on a relatively smooth path.

The combination would create a Northeast regional bank with nearly $24 billion of assets. It would rank as the eighth-largest bank in the Boston metropolitan area by deposit market share.

The bank said it redeployed proceeds from the sale into high-yielding investments. It also said it would end an employee pension plan to curb expenses.

OakNorth Bank in London is eager to utilize the data it's collected from providing risk management software to American banks over the past five years. Its growth plans include eventually acquiring a charter here and making commercial real estate loans.

The Los Angeles company has sold $6 billion of loans and securities since buying PacWest in November. CEO Jared Wolff said it might get smaller still as it strives to boost profitability.

The Wall Street bank aims to double consumer deposits and triple outstanding consumer loans in five years. A checking account is slated for 2021, and more cobranded credit cards could be coming.

The company best known for student lending expanded into personal lending less than two years ago. Now it says it is refocusing on core strategic priorities.

Goldman Sachs plans to offer details into its workings to boost its stock value; while challenger banks are prospering, traditional banks still rule the roost.

Dimon doesn’t expect it to happen, but the bank is getting ready just in case; the state will require banks to disclose their relationship with gun sellers.

The Atlanta fintech, whose shares have plummeted since it went public last year, also said it will stop providing financial guidance to its investors.

As management teams meet to set their priorities, there is a range of issues, including consolidation, cybersecurity and succession planning, that will likely come up.

Credit unions will be covering a range of important issues, including community development and enterprise risk management, as they review their operations.

The most profitable banks in American Banker’s annual rankings frequently produce year after year. That success requires rigorous budgeting and planning, timely analysis and more.

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Low unemployment and the promise of millions of new jobs have some in the industry seeing a chance to increase membership and lending in the Lone Star State.

The company is facing criticism after a big chargeoff on two properties, showing that investors have little patience when a risky business model shows signs of distress.

It will also invest in mortgage and small-business lending and in neighborhood revitalization efforts there. The moves are part of a nationwide expansion by the largest U.S. bank.

Credit unions face a delicate balancing act in their technological initiatives, including satisfying members, navigating vendor contracts and more.

JPMorgan Chase denied a report in the German magazine WirtschaftsWoche that it's interested in acquiring a stake in Deutsche Bank, after the lender's share price slumped.

There's a battle being waged by Bank of Montreal and its smaller rival, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, as they compete against JPMorgan Chase and almost 200 other lenders in so-called Chicagoland — one of the toughest banking markets in the U.S.