Wealth management

Bank of New York Mellon, the custody bank under pressure from activist investors to improve results, reported a 5% increase in first-quarter profit as it cut expenses and benefited from higher interest rates in the U.S.

Wells Fargo has hired Kristi Mitchem, formerly of State Street, to be the president and chief executive of its asset management division.

An improvement in fees collected for trust and investment services at Northern Trust contributed to an increase in first-quarter profit.

Ally Financial has launched a mobile app that uses geolocation to caution smartphone-carrying customers when they are arriving at stores where they overspend.

Profits soared at First Republic Bank in San Francisco thanks to lending growth in several categories and its expansion in wealth management.

Banks are slowly warming up to the idea of open APIs, essentially tools that allow banks to easily connect with others, but BBVA's Shamir Karkal says that they will likely also push banks to modernize their core systems.

Boston Private Financial Holdings appointed its bank president, George Schwartz, to the newly created position of chief executive of its private banking group.

Wells Fargo's chief financial officer John Shrewsberry has been named to Yale University's committee overseeing its $25.6 billion endowment. Shrewsberry has an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

The custody bank's $485 million purchase of GE Asset Management is consistent with its plan to invest in higher-growth, higher-return business lines. But analysts say the deal won't move the needle enough to alleviate short-term pressure on top-line growth.

Banc of California in Irvine has agreed to sell its wholly owned investment adviser subsidiary, The Palisades Group.