Commercial banking

The beleaguered bank said it is selling 74 loans totaling about $2.6 billion to a subsidiary of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings. The move is part of a plan to pursue strategic asset sales, trim expenses and shore up its balance sheet.

Community banks tapped the brakes during the first quarter, citing higher interest rates, recession threats and fallout from regional-bank failures. Fed data shows the trend has continued into May, and executives are preaching caution.

The decrease in long-term interest rates this year has helped banks' bond portfolios recover a bit. Some of them may consider restructuring their securities portfolios in the short run, and longer-term changes are also possible as the fallout from last month's crisis continues.

A $13.5 billion advance to Silicon Valley Bank months before its collapse is another sign that the Home Loan banks encourage risk-taking that can burden the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. or even the system itself, critics say.

Truist Financial eliminated about 5% of its investment banking division amid uncertainty surrounding the dealmaking environment, according to people with knowledge with the matter.

The loan-growth projections are for Columbia Banking System itself, before the Tacoma, Washington, bank officially merges with Umpqua Holdings. The $5 billion deal is scheduled to close Feb. 28.

The consensus calls for shrinking collateralized loan obligation volume in 2023, but rewards are said to outweigh the risks.

The acquisition, which was originally expected to close at the end of last year, ultimately took more than 18 months to receive regulatory approval. It is now expected to close on Dec. 1.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech in Jackson Hole reaffirmed that the end of accommodative monetary policy is coming to an end. This is a boon to banks, but only those that have managed their balance sheets just right.

The $369 billion directed toward climate preparedness in the Inflation Reduction Act is expected to reverberate through the economy for years to come and could supercharge private investment in the nation's clean energy sector. 

The rating agency has revised the long-term issuer default rating for PacWest Bancorp and its banking subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank, from "BBB" to "BBB-" and says it doesn't expect the bank's common equity Tier 1 ratio to bounce back anytime soon.

Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, says changes in the office sector and monetary policy pose potential risks to property owners and their lenders.

The move away from the scandal-plagued London interbank offered rate is going smoothly, according to a new survey of lenders and corporate borrowers. But many customers still face operational challenges ahead of a mid-2023 deadline for switching older loans.

The Alabama bank is buying Clearsight Advisors to add to its booming capital markets division.

The deal for Summit Financial furthers First Financial’s strategy of acquiring national niche business lines.

The bank, which acquired General Electric’s health care lending business in 2015, is looking to expand its presence amid a merger boom in the sector.

Goldman Sachs Group posted a surprise jump in its trading business, rounding out a stellar quarter for Wall Street’s biggest banks.

The San Francisco bank reported a 26% increase in its third-quarter earnings, thanks to robust single-family, multifamily and commercial real estate loan activity in New York, Boston and its home city.

Climate First Bank in St. Petersburg, Florida, is offering loans for condominium improvements that will reduce carbon emissions while fortifying buildings against serious weather events. More banks may implement similar programs in the years ahead.

Commercial borrowers are leaning more often on alternative lenders that provide better speed and flexibility. At the same time, some banks are turning their backs on what has long been a bread-and-butter business.