Alan Kline

At least five regional banks on Thursday discarded concerns about the global economy, stocks, interest rates and credit quality, forecasting loan growth for the rest of this year.

Signature Bank in New York reported a record profit in the fourth quarter as strong loan growth more than offset continuing weakness in its portfolio of taxi medallion loans.

Still facing revenue challenges, Regions, PNC and U.S. Bank vowed to reduce overhead in 2016. The cuts are less about bolstering short-term returns than funding investments in cutting-edge technologies or new products and services to remain competitive.

Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., reported double-digit earnings growth in the fourth quarter as gains in both fee income and loan balances helped to offset a sharply higher loan-loss provision related to weakness in its energy portfolio.

Banks can help ease a severe national shortage in affordable rental properties — and make money doing it.

The Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade is said to be prompting at least one large bank to boost the rates it pays to depositors.

BNP Paribas is considering selling or spinning off one of its two U.S. banking subsidiaries as it aims to boost capital.

Under Jill Castilla, the once-sleepy Citizens has been transformed into a thoroughly modern institution that has become a model for other small banks trying to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive financial services marketplace. For that reason and more, she is one of American Banker's three community bankers of the year.

First Republic Bank in San Francisco has extended the contract of longtime Chairman and Chief Executive James Herbert for another two years.

CEOS of midsize banks traveled to Washington recently to seek relief from some of the more onerous regulations that they say are making it harder for them to compete with both big banks and largely unregulated marketplace lenders that are aggressively going after their customers.