Analysts are predicting stronger results this year after a disappointing outcome in 2024.

As the flames continued to spread, banks closed more branches while others donated to relief efforts.

Executives at the super-regional bank told investors that years of investments are poised to start paying off in rising profits, but the market seemed skeptical about the company's plan forward.

With tougher capital requirements looming, a number of regionals including U.S. Bancorp, Huntington and Santander are using these new instruments to share risk with nonbank investors and lighten their capital load. Experts point out the pros and cons.

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.

Companies like U.S. Bancorp have found ways to apply the information they use to serve thin-file applicants to small-business owners and other borrowers.

The industry legend turned around a struggling Minneapolis company and even escaped a kidnapping to build the firm that is now the nation’s fifth-largest bank.

The Minneapolis company said 75% transactions have been handled online since the pandemic hit.

Lenders are cautioning not only that second-quarter provisions might exceed the spike seen earlier this year, but also that credit costs could be elevated into 2021 if the economic slowdown drags on or fears of a second coronavirus wave are borne out.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and U.S. Bancorp, along with 200 state-chartered banks and credit unions, have agreed to let borrowers skip payments for 90 days if their finances have been upended by the pandemic.

The Minneapolis company attributed the uptick to new tech tools, additional loan officers and other process improvements — not to mention the refi boom fueled by lower rates. It’s a formula other banks are expected to copy.

The Minneapolis bank says recent investments in its retail operation contributed to strong improvement in home lending and mortgage banking fees.

Digital mortgage strategies do more to support loan officers than some people think, according to Tom Wind, executive vice president of consumer lending at U.S. Bank.

The Minneapolis bank reported growth across several lending and noninterest income categories in the second quarter, which offset net interest margin pressures and declining deposit service fees.

The Minneapolis bank reported mid- to high-single-digit improvement in those categories, but total loan growth was curbed by declines in CRE and other credit types.

The company will shutter the offices it inherited when it bought EverBank in 2017 and focus on lending to existing customers through digital channels. U.S. Bank will assume the leases on about 25 properties.

Mortgage banking revenue stemming from a year-to-year increase in rates weighed down noninterest income at U.S. Bancorp, but increased interest income from higher rates helped improve earnings overall.