Branch banking

"We're going right at Bank of America, folks, in Charlotte, their hometown," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said to cheers and laughter at a branch opening in midtown Manhattan. "We've been waiting a long time to start the expansion of Chase retail."

The move to add dozens of branches, many in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, continues a strategic shift under retail banking chief Pablo Sanchez.

Paramount Financial Technologies says its software can help banks answer key questions about their branch networks, including when it makes sense to expand them.

Midsize banks are more profitable overall than both their smaller and larger counterparts, and the strategy that some of the best performers in this group use to stand out is specialization.

Metro Bank had worked to win shareholder support by raising fresh capital and cutting ties with Hill's wife's design firm.