Fintech

The Columbus, Ohio-based bank expects to hike expenses by about 4.5% this year as it ramps up investments in geographic areas and specialty banking verticals where it sees growth opportunities.

Fourth-quarter net income at the Buffalo, New York, bank fell 37% because of higher funding costs and a special deposit insurance assessment. But lower interest rates and a stronger economy are expected to strengthen profits this year and into 2025, its CFO says.

The retail giants are testing the limits of what customers will allow a generative AI system to do before making a payment.

The Minneapolis company's balance sheet is still feeling the weight of higher funding costs, but CEO Andrew Cecere gave several reasons why he anticipates revenue growth will begin to outpace noninterest expense growth and efficiency will improve after midyear.

The Seattle bank's stock price fell in 2023 amid concerns over rising interest rates and its concentration of multifamily loans. The buyer is FirstSun Capital Bancorp, which raised $175 million as part of the deal.

Jane Fraser says this year will be "critical" for the megabank, which is engaged in a massive, multiyear restructuring that involves cutting 20,000 jobs by the end of 2026.

Personal spending chugged along in the fourth quarter, thanks to the resilient job market. But loan charge-offs rose, and higher interest rates suppressed loan demand, executives say.

Surging interest rates, recession threats and weaker stock valuations bogged down merger-and-acquisition activity last year. The 98 announced deals fell short of even 2020, when the pandemic briefly brought the economy to a standstill.

The megabank will report a hit to its earnings this Friday from what one analyst called an "accounting nuisance." The charge, which BofA will make up over time, is due to the bank's use of a Bloomberg-developed interest rate index that gained little traction.

The KBW Bank Index posted a strong gain after a government report showed employers added 216,000 jobs in December. The labor market strength bodes well for lenders' credit quality but may delay highly anticipated interest rate cuts that would lower banks' funding costs.