The expansion program, entering its sixth year, gives the Cincinnati-based company a regional profile few of its competitors can match, CEO Tim Spence said on a conference call with analysts.

Investors drove up the stock prices of both companies after Ally Financial said it's selling its point-of-sale lending business to Synchrony Financial. The deal is expected to help Ally focus on its bread-and-butter auto lending business, while also aiding Synchrony's efforts to gain market share.

Citizens Bank of Edmond's Jill Castilla is reappointed to Fed Advisory Council; Old National injects $1.2 billion into its existing community benefits program; former Ernst & Young CEO Mark Weinberger joins JPMorgan's board; and more in our weekly banking news roundup.

The top five banks and thrifts have a combined first mortgage loan volume of more than $1 trillion.

Industry Bancshares' bond portfolio is massively underwater, and one of its regulators says the company is in "troubled condition." But Industry says it was already working on fixes prior to the OCC's intervention, which it calls an "unfortunate example of regulatory overreach."

The Dallas bank's full-year results showed progress toward its long-term strategic goals despite a fourth-quarter drop-off in net interest income heavily tied to its mortgage business, executives said on an earnings call.

Fourth-quarter net income at the Buffalo, New York, bank fell 37% because of higher funding costs and a special deposit insurance assessment. But lower interest rates and a stronger economy are expected to strengthen profits this year and into 2025, its CFO says.

As part of a settlement with the Justice Department, Patriot Bank must invest more than $1 million of the total in a loan subsidy fund for minority homeowners and take other corrective steps in its everyday business. The bank denied any wrongdoing.

Centra Credit Union in Columbus, Indiana — which completed a merger with NorthPark Community Credit Union this month — has agreed to absorb Hoosier Hills Credit Union. The latest deal would create a $3 billion-asset institution.

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank reported a jump in soured commercial and consumer credits during the fourth quarter. Still, PNC executives said the company is appropriately reserved for a mild recession.