Technology investment was a major point of focus for U.S. Bank’s fourth-quarter earnings report, but the bank expects investments to remain level in 2022.

The $573 billion bank made significant digital banking investments in Q4, acquiring MUFG Union Bank in an $8 billion deal, along with fintechs TravelBank and Bento. However, the level of investment will not follow previous year-over-year increases, instead remaining constant in the new year, said U.S. Bank Chief Executive Andy Cecere.

“We really don’t expect any significant increase in investment levels, but we continue to expect that we will maintain those investment levels going forward,” Cecere said during Wednesday’s earnings call.

Leading U.S. Bank’s technology investment in 2022 will be its mobile banking app, but real-time payments, money movement and B2B innovations will also be important, Cecere said.

The bank has seen steady growth in its digital customer base, with 80% of all banking transactions and two-thirds of loan sales facilitated digitally. Technology and communications spend in Q4 was $372 million, up 3% YoY, while spend in 2021 was $1.4 billion, a 12.4% increase YoY. U.S. Bank did not break out technology spend in its report.

The Minneapolis-based bank’s reported net income was $1.7 billion, down 17.5% from the third quarter and up 10% YoY. Net revenue was $5.7 billion, down 3.5% sequentially and 1.2% YoY. The bank’s overall efficiency ratio was 62.3%, a 6% increase YoY.

Analysts questioned the efficacy of the bank’s tech investments, citing a trend of negative operating leverage figures and a static stock price, but Cecere said the bank is in a “strong” position. “We’ve been focused on making the necessary investments in our digital capabilities and our payments business,” he said. “We made those investments eyes wide open, at the same time balancing some short-term expense opportunities on an operating core basis.

“I think on a go-forward basis, you’re going to see positive operating leverage because of those investments,” he added.

Shares of U.S. Bank were trading at $56.91 at market close, down 0.80% from market open.

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