The collapse in oil prices hammered fourth-quarter profits at Hancock Holding as the Gulfport, Miss., sharply boosted its loan-loss provision address weakness in its energy loan book.

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.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. handed community bankers a critical win on Thursday by rescinding a plan to treat reciprocal deposits as brokered deposits in the calculation of small-institution assessments.

F.N.B. in Pittsburgh said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 0.5% from a year earlier, to $37.1 million.

Fourth-quarter earnings reports probably couldn't have been scheduled for a worse time. Banks reported results (and sometimes good ones) right as the markets and the price of oil tanked. The cold reception from investors and analysts is a reminder of how sometimes the analysis of a banks' numbers has little to do with the past quarter, and more to do what's going on right now.

Subtly altered versions of popular apps are appearing more often on smartphones. These rogue apps, often available for free, can steal mobile banking passwords or redirect text messages containing passcodes.

Webster Financial Corp. in Waterbury, Conn., said loan growth and higher returns from its HSA Bank subsidiary helped its fourth-quarter profit rise 4.5% year over year, to $50.6 million.

Aquesta Financial Services in Cornelius, N.C., has acquired an insurance portfolio from James E. Moore Agency in Wilmington, N.C.

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., plans to shut down an auto leasing business it inherited after buying Susquehanna Bancshares in Lititz, Pa.

The CFPB announced Thursday that Herbies Auto Sales must provide $700,000 in refunds to customers and pay a $100,000 fine to resolve allegations it hid finance charges and deceived consumers purchasing vehicles.

ASB Bancorp in Asheville, N.C., has agreed to appoint to its board the activist investor Lawrence Seidman and another representative picked by Seidman.

The U.S. Department of Education has granted more time for companies to submit offers to perform debt collection work under a Request for Proposal.

Elevate Credit, an online lender, has temporarily delayed an initial public stock offering because of difficult market conditions. The firm was set to price its initial public stock offering Thursday.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, reported higher fourth-quarter earnings, citing increases in commercial and auto lending and fees from deposit accounts and payment processing.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., is the latest bank to partner with an online lender, announcing an agreement Thursday to refer certain small-business customers to OnDeck Capital.

Fiserv in Brookfield, Wis., has agreed to buy the community financial services business of ACI Worldwide for $200 million in cash.

Millennials may have initially been the primary target for digital banking services, but we must bust the myth that they're the only ones craving innovation.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati on Thursday reported a big spike in profits, after selling shares in the payment processor Vantiv.

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., posted lower quarterly results that largely reflected lower fee income and costs tied to recent acquisitions.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling is trying to stop $80 million in payments given to borrowers as part of a controversial auto loan discrimination settlement with Ally Financial until regulators verify the checks were actually given to minorities.