Alan Kline

Citizens Financial Group Inc. in Providence, R.I., posted strong earnings growth in the fourth quarter, but not nearly strong enough to offset losses at its parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland.

Weak demand for advances among member banks suppressed profits at several of the nation's Federal Home Loan Banks during the fourth quarter.

The parent company of United Legacy Bank in Winter Park, Fla., is buying a large stake in a rival bank in what appears to be the first step toward building a multi-bank holding company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is planning to open between 25 and 30 branches in Northern California this year as part of its ongoing quest to add market share in the nation's largest state.

CoBank, the largest lender in the government-backed Farm Credit System, reported record profits in 2011 as higher prices for key commodities such as corn, wheat and soy led to increased loan demand from large cooperatives and agribusinesses.

In what would be its latest asset purchase from a European bank, Wells Fargo & Co. announced after markets closed Tuesday that it is acquiring BNP Paribas' North American energy-lending business in all-cash deal.

Britton & Koontz Bank in Natchez, Miss., has been ordered by its regulator to immediately take steps to reduce the level of risk in its loan portfolio.

Starbucks Coffee Co. has raised more than $2 million in small-dollar donations from its customers since Nov. 1 in support of its effort to stimulate job growth in low- and moderate-income communities.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. in Huntington, W.Va., is planning to consolidate three of its four subsidiary banks as part of its ongoing effort to build scale, lower its compliance costs and improve its overall efficiency.

Fannie Mae is considering Timothy Mayopoulos, the head of a banking industry trade group and its own general counsel, as possible replacements for departing Chief Executive Michael Williams, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Town and Country Financial Corp. in Springfield. Ill., is combining its two bank subsidiaries that it has operated as separate entities for nearly three decades.

Aiming to capitalize on new regulations that will require derivatives to be traded on an exchange, State Street Corp. in Boston announced Wednesday that it is launching a new electronic platform for over-the-counter swaps.

Another day, another acquisition for deal-happy Wintrust Financial Corp.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have allowed government-backed Farm Credit System lenders to make more home loans.

Memorial services were held in Charlotte Monday for Thomas Storrs, the former chairman and chief executive of North Carolina National Bank who laid the groundwork for today's Bank of America Corp.

Hampton Roads Bankshares of Norfolk, Va., announced that it plans to pursue a stock offering next quarter in which it hopes to raise between $54 million and $86 million. Separately, it has named Douglas J. Glenn its president and chief executive.

First Virginia Community Bank in Fairfax has raised $6.7 million in capital from old and new investors and intends to use the proceeds to continue its rapid growth.

OmniAmerican Bancorp in Fort Worth, Texas, said Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings nearly quadrupled from the same period in 2010, to $1.2 million, as declines in loan yields were more than offset by an 18% increase in average balances of earning assets.

Centennial Bank in Denver is adding a new branch in Boulder as part of a broad strategy to establish a presence in some of the state's key banking markets.

Bernard M. Trager, the founder of Republic Bank in Louisville and chairman of its holding company, died Friday after a long illness. He was 83.