Wealth management

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.

The deal to buy TradeKing would allow the online-only bank to offer wealth-building products to its roughly 1.1 million depositors. The additional low-cost deposits could also help fund loan growth as it looks to expand beyond auto lending and into mortgages and credit cards.

Wealth management units have been a surefire source of fees for banks over the last few years, as low rates dragged down spread income. But a policy change will likely be a crucial test to the business model.

Wealth management revenue has been a bright spot on bank earnings for the last few years, but regulatory changes to the way advisers can charge for their services will likely dramatically change the business.