Funding pressures moderated in recent months, but loan charge-offs climbed. With festering concerns about a vulnerable economy, the potential for elevated credits costs could loom large over the upcoming bank earnings season.

Washington Trust shares plunged after the Westerly, Rhode Island, company disclosed it booked an office deal in the third quarter, boosting the size of its portfolio while other lenders are pulling back.

Despite an industrywide rough patch, EverBank still sees promise in the niche business line. The Jacksonville, Florida, company has hired a pair of prominent industry experts to lead a new division tasked with serving investment funds.

Banking and credit union regulators encouraged compassionate treatment of customers in Hawaii communities hit by wildfires. They also vowed to grant expedited approvals of temporary banking facilities, be flexible in compliance matters and provide other support to financial institutions.

The three former Washington Federal Bank for Savings board members were accused of giving the OCC false information in an attempt to hide embezzlement. They could face up to five years in prison for attempting to deceive the OCC.

The racially targeted mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in 2022 has renewed conversations about whether banks have a duty to help segregated, impoverished communities that were shaped in part by discriminatory lending practices. What do banks owe the Black community, and what influence could they have?

The American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee said access to loans is likely to further soften, while defaults and credit losses could increase in the second half of the year.

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 Philadelphia-based company will eliminate an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a plan to refocus on core business lines and markets, CEO Thomas Geisel said.

At the embattled Republic First Bancorp, elevated legal, professional and audit fees also contributed to a nearly $10 million in first-quarter loss but CEO Thomas Geisel reports signs of progress moving past "legacy headwinds."