KeyCorp

The Cleveland company will launch the service in March to broaden relationships its Laurel Road student loan refinancing unit has built with health care professionals.

Executives from a half-dozen major financial institutions avoided detailed commercial lending forecasts and gave a mixed outlook on consumer credit at an industry conference. And they called on Washington to pass an aid package targeted at the most troubled business sectors as soon as it can.

Jane Fraser, who in February will become the first female CEO of a Wall Street bank, said during a Women in Banking event hosted by American Banker that she will be “the first of many, many more” to come.

Institutions large and small are either creating new positions or elevating existing diversity heads to C-suite roles. Will the moves help banks improve equality within their ranks and better serve their communities?

While elevated loan-loss provisions are expected to eat into all banks’ earnings, midsize banks could suffer more than their big-bank rivals because they have fewer revenue drivers. Meanwhile, investors will be watching closely for any signs of dividend cuts stemming from the Federal Reserve’s caps on payouts.