Jim Dobbs

Community bank earnings are usually easy to understand, but loan deferrals and modifications as well as the complexities of the Paycheck Protection Program are skewing financial statements.

The New York companies plan to move ahead with their proposed deal despite challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Lexicon Bank in Las Vegas, whose chairman was a professional gambler, is actively courting poker players to open deposit accounts for their tournament winnings.

The Nashville bank had sued Gaylon Lawrence in 2017 over allegations that he was pursuing an illegal takeover, but the two sides announced terms of a settlement.

With the coronavirus pandemic intensifying and hopes for a quick economic recovery fading, banks large and small are reducing headcounts, shuttering branches, shedding office space and generally trying to trim expenses wherever they can.

The Georgia company warned that outstanding loans could fall and deferrals will likely rise as its home state and Florida grapple with the pandemic.

Government stimulus efforts, including the Paycheck Protection Program, have fueled a deposit surge. The challenge for banks is figuring out how to put that new money to use.

Bank of America was the latest large bank to report a second-quarter drop in the key earnings metric after a March surge in credit line utilizations gave way to rapid payoffs in May and June.

Net charge-offs fell at Citigroup and Wells Fargo, thanks to forbearance and federal stimulus. Leaders of those banks are warning that delinquencies could rise once the benefits of those programs wear off.

Bankers had asserted in April that they could handle a slump in oil prices tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Continued volatility, combined with declining collateral values and a rise in bankruptcies for exploration companies, is denting their confidence.