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Continuing its rapid expansion in Massachusetts, People's United Bank in Bridgeport, Conn., announced Monday that it has opened three more branches in and around Boston.
July 18 -
PNC, U.S. Bancorp and KeyCorp all reported loan growth of at least 5% in the third quarter as they focused heavily on strengthening customer relationships and reaped the benefits of expansion into new markets or business lines. Still, revenue and other challenges remain.
October 16 -
First Republic Bank (FRC) in San Francisco reported a 9% rise in quarterly profit on increased lending and continuing improvement in its wealth management income.
October 15 -
Some regional banks reported strong loan growth in the third quarter and are upbeat about the fourth. Others had a weak summer and expect this quarter to be the same. All claim their lending practices are sound and that rivals are taking risks. It doesn't add up.
October 17 -
John Koelmel will receive a severance package from First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG) that is 38% smaller than previous reports had indicated.
August 12
First Niagara Financial (FNFG) and People's United Financial (PBCT) are pleased to be among the regional banks that generated loan growth during the third quarter, though the institutions wish they could get paid more for those loans.
The companies reported double-digit increases in loans from a year earlier. First Niagara, in Buffalo, N.Y., reported a 101% rise from the third quarter of 2012, while People's United, in Bridgeport, Conn., had a 10.4% spike.
At First Niagara, its growth was led by its dealings in indirect auto lending and commercial loans, Gregory Norwood, the $37 billion-asset company's chief financial officer, said in an interview. Those segments should continue grow at about the same rate this quarter, he said.
"We continue to have a strong pipeline and that allows us to look at a lot of deals," Norwood said.
Loan growth at People's United was a product of "leveraging our expanded footprint, as well as progress in our heritage markets and [a] strengthened product lineup," Kirk Walters, the $32 billion-asset company's chief financial officer, said during a conference call Thursday The company
People's United should see loan growth at similar rates during the fourth quarter, mostly from commercial and multifamily residential real estate, Jack Barnes, the company's president and chief executive, said during the call.
Borrowers' appetite for new loans has been mixed across the country, as uncertainty about the economy lingers. Heightened competition has stymied banks' abilities to turn originations into meaningful net interest income improvement.
A few regional banks have reported
Other banks were
First Niagara and People's United were stung by shrinking net interest margins. The margin at First Niagara shrank by 14 basis points from a year earlier, to 3.4%. At People's United, the margin compressed by 59 basis points from the third quarter of 2012, to 3.3%
Margins tightened because of intense competition. Some banks are too generous with pricing and terms, and Norwood said those factors are pinching everyone's margins. There were "deals we decided we didn't want to participate in, or deals that didn't have the pricing that we thought was reasonable," he said.
Separately, First Niagara said it is continuing to search for a permanent successor for former CEO John Koelmel, who
