The tight labor market and public pressure to raise minimum wages are expected to nudge noninterest expenses upward in a year when the watchword is cost control.
Businesses scaled back investment plans in the third quarter, but consumers continued borrowing; the bank now plans to raise its minimum wage to $20 in 2020.
Readers react to the Fed's lengthy plan for a real-time payments system and Fifth Third's minimum wage increase, jab at Sen. Warren's absence on the Senate Banking Committee and more.
The Cincinnati regional bank says it will spend an extra $15 million a year to offer more competitive pay that it hopes will attract talented front-line employees.
Raises for the rank and file have fueled investor complaints that banks aren’t keeping a lid on expenses. Executives say the pay increases have lowered turnover and improved customer service.
Readers react to efforts to improve bank branches, weigh the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's decision to pull back on enforcing the Military Lending Act, consider efforts to build finetch sandboxes and more.
