Consumer banking

The regional bank has begun closing branches in Chicagoland as part of a plan to reduce its net number of brick-and-mortar offices by up to 15% even as it looks to expand in the Southeast.

On his watch, the $170 billion-asset HSBC USA became the first bank in the world to deploy a customer-facing robot in a branch. It's also the first bank to use wearable technology to help front-line branch staff.

The Canadian parent of BMO Harris Bank in Chicago has named Johannson group head of North American personal banking, an extension of similar executive duties she holds in the U.S.

Critics have knocked the product, which provides workers access to their wages before payday, as another form of predatory lending. But California has a new bill that would create a legal framework for this short-term lending alternative, and policymakers elsewhere should follow the state's lead.

Eric Meilstrup, who was named president last fall, will succeed Steve Foster as CEO next month.