Corporate governance

After the Rhode Island-based company eliminated 650 positions, severance-related costs contributed to a 71% decline in quarterly net income.

The manufactured homes in Paradise, California, have features like site-built structures and are eligible for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing.

Across the industry, the pace of branch shutdowns slowed this year. Still, large financial institutions continued to trim their physical footprints, with two super-regional banks taking the most aggressive actions.

Once the pace of private equity-backed sales of middle-market companies picks up, the Rhode Island-based bank expects to benefit. CEO Bruce Van Saun says that Citizens' recent expansions in private banking and wealth management will provide opportunities to cross-sell to corporate clients.

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank expects to save $325 million next year as it reduces its staff by 4%. Executives said the cuts are necessary because revenue has fallen amid a surge in interest rates and a decline in loan volumes.

The consulting giant's annual global banking review highlights a stark trend: Over a seven-year period, more than 70% of the net increase in financial assets ended up not on U.S. banks' balance sheets, but instead at insurance and pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, in private capital markets and elsewhere.

Hint: It requires balancing technology with the appropriate degree of personalization and human interaction.

Thomas Nides, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and longtime Morgan Stanley executive, will take over the megabank's public affairs division as its work to fix regulatory concerns continues. He succeeds Bill Daley, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, who recently announced his retirement from Wells.

HUD has rolled out its 90-day foreclosure moratorium and the government-sponsored enterprises are providing up to a year of forbearance with fees or penalties.

Bank of America is also planning to expand into Madison, Wisconsin; Boise, Idaho; and Birmingham, Alabama, a company executive said. The goal is to find growth opportunities that don't require operating a large number of branches, the executive indicated.