While higher interest rates help drive bank profits by allowing them to charge more on loans, the higher interest payments could make some consumers reconsider buying a home or refinancing, The Wall Street Journal reports. The rising rates, which RBC Capital analyst Gerard Cassidy said could "work against the banks" overtime, also push banks to pay more to some depositors.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co. flagged layoffs for its consumer mortgage business, with 400 employees to lose their jobs in several cities, including Phoenix, Cleveland, Jackson, Fla., and Columbus, Ohio, WSJ sources say. The banking giant employs 20,000 people in the division.

Coding lessons are now mandatory for JPMorgan's new investment bankers and asset managers under a new pilot scheme, with 300 analysts who joined the bank's asset management division this year having undergone the training, Financial Times reports. "By better understanding coding, our business teams can speak the same language as our technology teams, which ultimately drives better tools and solutions for our clients," FT cited JPMorgan Asset Management Head Mary Erdoes as saying. JPMorgan is also considering to include other junior employees in the mandatory lessons, which could include data science concepts, machine learning and cloud computing in 2019, according to the report.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Petershill Fund subsidiary is close to securing a deal to acquire an undisclosed stake in venture capital firm General Catalyst Partners LLC, sources told Bloomberg News. The potential deal would be the buyout fund's first investment in a venture capital firm, according to a source.

Citigroup Inc. is planning to establish a new London-based bank to cater its U.K. consumer business following Brexit, Reuters reports. The business will be transferred to the new entity by March 2019, along with all British consumer accounts, services and investments.

In other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: China cuts reserve ratio; Axis Bank stake sale delayed; India holds rates steady

Europe: Lloyds, Schroders in wealth tie-up talks; Monte dei Paschi selling Belgian unit

Middle East & Africa: South Africa minister faces pressure to resign; S&P lowers outlook on Morocco

Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Protests, scandals create significant deposit headwinds, study shows: A paper presented in a community banking conference showed that customers who close their accounts as a form of protest can create significant deposit headwinds and serve as a check on that bank's behavior.

NYSE executives hint that SEC's trading test could end up facing litigation: Michael Blaugrund, New York Stock Exchange's head of transactions, said the Securities and Exchange Commission's pilot program to test lower equity trading fees would likely "end up in litigation" due to conflicts with the Administrative Procedure Act.

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng was down 1.39% to 26,202.57.

In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.56% to 7,277.39, and the Euronext 100 slid 0.74% to 1,031.23.

On the macro front

The TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index is due out today.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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