Bank channel

The Birmingham, Ala., regional banking company has quietly consolidated its investment-related groups under one wealth management group. The restructuring was partly spurred by the company's sale of Morgan Keegan earlier this year.

Though banks have always measured customer satisfaction, there is a greater focus now on understanding exactly what drives the customer experience and how it can help the bottom line.

Hindsight isn't really 20/20 because there's a good chance one could misinterpret what happened. And if we connect the dots incorrectly and claim a pattern that isn't there, then we've gone through the pain without learning anything. And we're bound to repeat the same mistakes someday.

Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services has long provided trust companies and banks with custody services for the mutual funds they offer. Now the firm is expanding those capabilities to become a "full-service custodian" for all bank and trust asset classes, including equity and fixed-income securities and money market funds, Fidelity announced today. …

More than four in 10 investors (41%) view themselves as "very inexperienced" with investing, up from 27% last year.

Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, is considering combining its asset-management unit with the private and investment banking divisions, a person familiar with the matter said.

Northern Trust hired Randall S. Burkert, a 20-year Goldman Sachs veteran, as managing director of development for its wealth management arm.

PNC is among several banks aiming to boost visibility on college campuses in hopes of attracting young consumers who many not have a dime to their names now but could be high earners down the road.

After the shock of 2008, investors had a generally sunny outlook: they were satisfied with their portfolios and their advisors and the firms that employed them. But that is no longer the case.

Though banks have always measured customer satisfaction, there is a greater focus now on understanding exactly what drives the customer experience and how it can help the bottom line.

After being named head of the Financial Services Roundtable on Thursday, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty laid out his agenda for the trade group, saying banks need to do more to police themselves.

CEO John Stumpf offered candid views on monetary policy, the housing crisis, capital rules and even consumer protection during a panel discussion late Wednesday.

As PenFed moves investment program back to former third-party marketer CFS, it sets sights on previous AUM mark of $250 million.

Bank of America may be preparing to slash about 6% of its work force by the end of this year as part of an ongoing series of streamlining measures.

In an effort to bolster its recruiting with financial institution, Securities America announced Thursday it has hired William J. Lavender as regional director of financial institutions.

The mass affluent represent an ample opportunity for retail banks if they can figure out how to reach them, a new report from HNW, Inc. finds.

Wintrust Financial Corp. plans to acquire HPK Financial Corp., the parent company of Hyde Park Bank and Trust Co.

Scott & Stringfellow is looking to leverage its role as the brokerage for BB&T to help build out new offices in Florida and Maryland.

The $94 billion-asset bank holding company said Wednesday it expects to add 400 jobs at its fund administration operation in Limerick, Ireland by 2017.

A greater number of Americans believe that their personal finances and the economy are in better shape than they were a year ago, according to a new survey from a unit of JPMorgan Chase.