Alan Kline

Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pa., is planning to open six new branches in 2012 and will renovate five others as part of a broader effort to make its branches more inviting and free up staff to better interact with customers.

PVF Capital (PVFC) posted its first profitable quarter in four years as the Solon, Ohio, company benefited from a surge in mortgage lending activity and continued improvement in asset quality.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta reported strong loan growth and lower expenses in the first quarter, but its overall profit fell 38% from the same period last year due what it describes as the "inherent volatility" related to the accounting of failed-bank acquisitions.

Armed with fresh capital from its new ownership group, Crescent Financial Bankshares in Raleigh, N.C., has reported its first profitable quarter in two years and said it has won approval from regulators to resume divided payments on both trust-preferred securities and shares issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

WSFS Financial (WSFS) in Wilmington, Del., has been using its excess capital to open new branches, hire lenders and beef up its wealth management operations, but Chief Executive Mark Turner assured investors and analysts Friday that repaying the $53 million it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program remains a priority.

First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) in Cincinnati is planning to close 10 of its branches in a move it says will reduce its annual overhead by about $2.3 million.

Thinly traded First Trust Bank was a popular stock with investors early Friday after rumors circulated that the Charlotte community bank could soon be acquired.

Investors Bancorp (ISBC) in Short Hills, N.J., reported a profit of $18.9 million in the quarter that ended March 31, up about 4% from the same period last year, as an acquisition and continued organic growth helped boost earning assets.

Calling it a "milestone in its global growth," Silicon Valley Bank announced late Thursday that it has received permission from British banking authorities to open a full-service banking office in London.

Citizens Republic Bancorp (CRBC) in Flint, Mich., reported its fourth-straight quarterly Thursday profit as loan quality continued to improve and a surge of new deposits helped generate fresh income from investment securities.

The investment bank FBR & Co. (FBRC) announced Thursday that longtime Chairman Eric F. Billings will step down in June and that he will be replaced by the firm's president and chief executive, Richard J. Hendrix.

Texas Capital Bancshares' (TCBI) stock zoomed to an all-time high Thursday after the Dallas company handily beat first-quarter earnings projections and the investment firm Sterne Agee & Leach upgraded its shares from neutral to buy.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) in Maine is getting some love from analysts following its record earnings performance in the first quarter.

United Community Banks (UCBI) in Blairsville, Ga., reported a profit of $8.5 million in the first quarter as lower expenses and 31% jump in fee-based revenues from the prior year more than offset slightly weakening asset quality.

Aided by its January purchase State Bancorp, Valley National Bancorp (VLY) in Wayne, N.J., reported strong loan and deposit growth in the first quarter, though its overall earnings declined slightly from the prior year due to merger related costs and other one-time events.

Sterling Financial (STSA) said after markets closed Wednesday that its first-quarter net income rose 146% from the same period last year, to $13.3 million, due primarily to a growth in loan balances, lower funding costs and improved asset quality.

Solid revenue growth and a continued decline in problem loans helped boost Trustmark's first-quarter profit by 27% over the same period last year, to $30.3 million.

A surge in mortgage lending combined with improved asset quality and expense control led the embattled First Mariner Bancorp in Baltimore to its first profitable quarter in more than five years for the quarter that ended March 31.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) in San Antonio posted record profits in the first quarter as strong deposit growth and sharply improved asset quality more than offset a declining net interest margin and a dip in fee income.

Shares of Sun Bancorp (SNBC) plunged early Wednesday after the Vineland, N.J., company reported a wider-than-expected loss in the first quarter due to ongoing weakness in its loan portfolio.