Expense management

The New York-based online lender plans to spend an additional $15 million next year, largely on bank partnerships and international expansion.

The custody bank was very profitable, and it raised its cost-saving forecast for year-end, but its nearly 3% increase in third-quarter noninterest expenses prompted an investor backlash.

Commercial and industrial lending rose 8% in the third quarter at the Cleveland bank, but other factors drove its double-digit gain in profits as overall loan growth was modest.

The largest U.S. bank's strong third quarter did not insulate its leaders from being pressed about the downside of pricey investments in technology, whether capital rules make commercial lending growth hard for big banks to achieve, and whether another economic downturn is edging closer.

The cuts are part of a broader effort to trim expenses by roughly $3 billion a year by 2020.