Bank channel

BOK Financial Corp. has acquired The Milestone Group, a Denver registered investment advisor. The acquisition enhances BOK's presence in Denver and brings its assets under management and administration across all its subsidiaries to nearly $50 billion, the company said in a statement. BOK has maintained a presence in Denver through its local bank brand, Colorado State Bank and Trust, a 100-year-old company. The acquisition will strengthen the Colorado bank's wealth management business. .

Add Citigroup to the list of banks crying foul at the way Nasdaq handled automated trading in the May 18 Facebook IPO.

Drew Brahos and Bruce Wetter will advise clients on portfolio management strategies and contribute to the team's investment research.

Big businesses' mixed feelings about their large bank partners are especially obvious when the conversation turns to proposed reforms of money-market funds, which corporate treasurers say could increase the power of "too big to fail" banks.

New tools to help bank advisors are getting top billing at LPL Financial's annual Focus Conference. But a key new hire to help in those efforts may not be announced officially until the three-day conference is over.

The gap between U.S. bank deposits and loans is growing at the fastest pace in two years, providing lenders with more funds to buy bonds and temper the biggest sell-off in Treasuries since 2010.

More than three in four advisors expect to continue selling variable annuities and allocate 11% of their assets under management toward these products, according to Cogent Research.

Norman Greenidge will be responsible for meeting the wealth management needs of professional athletes through Northern Trust's core services of financial planning, investment management, trust and estate planning and private banking.

Susan Pickering will lead a team of relationship managers for high-net-worth clients and retirement plan services for institutions.

Sandy Weill's call to break up the big banks by restoring the Depression Era law has sparked a backlash among some who argue it would not help prevent the next crisis.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has agreed to buy MFS McLean Budden's private-wealth business.

Advisors contributed to the growth in Fidelity's defined contribution sales commitments during the first half of 2012, bringing in more than 450 new clients with close to 100,000 participants and $2.6 billion in assets under administration.

Monarch Bank in Chesapeake, Va., will launch a new wealth management unit as it looks to expand in Virginia.

Citigroup Inc., the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, started an investment banking joint venture in China that will give it access to the world's second-biggest market for share sales.

The online tool analyzes program data against industry averages and best practices drawn from more than 2,800 financial institutions.

M&I, acquired last year, will be brought into the BMO Harris Bank network.

Ohio-based regional bank names Michael Robinson to lead its wealth management efforts

Annuity income at banks overall increased; but an apples-to-apples comparison shows a clearer picture and tells a bleaker story.

German banking giant Deutsche Bank announced Tuesday that it is eliminating 1,900 jobs - including 1,500 at its investment bank - in a move it says would reduce expenses by 350 million euros, or roughly $430 million in U.S. dollars.

Awareness of bank-sold life insurance improves; carriers designing simple products could benefit, LIMRA reports.