Wealth management

Affluent customers deserve special attention, but banks have to think outside of the box to improve loyalty and customer satisfaction with this important customer segment.

Why a small bank like First Mid-Illinois ignored the conventional wisdom — 'Commercial banks buy property/casualty firms.' 'Private-equity will outbid you.' 'Leave the innovation to the big guys.' — and bought a retail health-insurance agency.

First Republic Bank in San Francisco has promoted Mike Selfridge to the newly created role of chief banking officer.

Did men get more than their fair share of the managing director promotions at Goldman Sachs, and what does Barbie have to do with a Fed trailblazer? Also, JPMorgan Chase's Mary Callahan Erdoes isn't getting on the robo-advisory bandwagon and women talk about "systematic sexism" in the journalism and entertainment fields.

PwC's Dennis Nally on how men can empower women in financial services; Fidelity's Kathy Murphy on drawing female customers to financial planning; Well Fargo's Maureen O'Donnell on welcoming female advisers aboard; and are the regulatory agencies welcoming to women?

A handful of entrepreneurs have created apps that let workers, especially those with inconsistent incomes, receive portions of their paychecks before payday. Their emergence underscores how slower payments look out of date in an on-demand world.

In a few instances, banks have temporarily blocked data aggregators from screen scraping customers' bank account information. Are the banks exercising appropriate judgment or obstructing potential competitors?

With the CFPB poised to finalize regulations on overdraft fees, it is important to realize how much the product helps informed consumers.

Wells Fargo said it does not have any immediate plans to acquire a wealth management business in the U.K., following media reports that it's looking at two companies.

Dave McKay, the president and CEO of Royal Bank of Canada, has spent much of his time as head of the second-largest Canadian bank plotting the acquisition of the coveted $36 billion-asset City National in Los Angeles. Now he has to execute on a strategy of cross-selling products to affluent customers of both banks while expanding geographically.