Bank channel

As their interest income dwindles, banks are looking to bulk up their wealth management businesses in a bid to boost their fee-based revenue.

A French prosecutor recommended charges for complicity in tax fraud and aggravated money laundering tied to a trust overseen by the firm's office on the island country.

Wealth-management profits fell 2.1% to C$230 million, after recording C$27 million in restructuring costs for its U.S. and international operations, while insurance earnings rose 18% to C$185 million.

While many of the fundamentals of bank programs haven't changed much, the products, technology and sophistication of advisors and clients alike have increased exponentially.

JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. lender, is closing more than 5% of its branches as the firm cuts costs and as more consumers use digital devices to bank.

The megabank's commitment to its branches stands out in an industry where customers are shifting more of their banking activity to mobile devices and PCs, and where banks take an increasingly ruthless look at branch performance numbers.

Steven J. Dunkelberg was barred for allegedly swiping nearly $5,000 from a bank customer's account. He's the third rep to be ousted from the industry this year.

The fight over the Dodd-Frank threshold for enhanced regulations is the first big legislative battle for a loose coalition of regional banks.

The fiscal 2016 budget includes proposals to limit the value of itemized tax deductions for IRAs and 401(k)s and other expenses to 28%.

The group has expanded into Seattle, following entries into New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS Group banker who won a $104 million whistle-blower award after serving time in prison for tax conspiracy, won a U.S. judge’s permission to testify in France in a separate probe of the Swiss bank.

The board left his salary unchanged at $1.5 million and he received no cash bonus, a person with knowledge of the decisions said.

A recent research paper found that community banks' assets, along with market share in most types of commercial lending, have fallen since the Dodd-Frank Act was passed. The report is giving advocates of smaller institutions more data to rally around.

Branch closings draw big headlines, but several large banks are entering new markets — or bulking up in underrepresented cities — by adding branches and hiring lenders. Bank of America, for instance, is planning a retail push in Denver and Minneapolis.

John Houston, managing director of Raymond James’ Financial Institutions Division, shares his views.

Smaller banks must find ways to embrace new and disruptive ways of doing business to compete with bigger institutions and nonbanks, say industry experts.

The firm has made lending and deposits a greater part of its strategy as it seeks to generate more revenue from brokerage clients.

It's a mortgage on top of a mortgage, and at least one lender is making these loans again through brokers.

The bureau is raising concerns about the transparency and clarity of reverse mortgages based on more than a thousand complaints it received about the product.

High-net-worth unit of one of industry's biggest bank programs gets new leader in Terry Jenkins.