Banks should devote more attention to big data, cloud computing and other high-tech tools that will help expand revenue and less time on cost cutting and other short-term gains.

Astorial Financial (AF) in Lake Success, N.Y., reported higher quarterly profits because of improved credit quality.

Banks that trade over-the-counter have long had concerns their stocks suffer from light trading and visibility. They hope a new exchange will help boost their stocks' liquidity and their buying power for acquisitions.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is committing $33 million to encourage community development financial institutions to work together to stimulate economic growth in underserved markets.

Longtime CEO William Cooper tells analysts that he is as optimistic as ever about his company's growth prospects following its reinvention.

Sunrise Bank in Cocoa Beach, Fla., has been freed from an enforcement order from the Federal Reserve Board.

Technology, like mobile banking and credit scoring, has eroded any strategic advantages small banks once held in serving small businesses, industry experts say.

The Westbury, N.Y., bank has sought a large deal to vault well over the $50 billion-asset threshold. But with no transformational deal in sight, it is now willing to pass that asset milestone through a small acquisition or organic growth.

The $17.6 billion-asset company's fourth-quarter earnings fell 36% from a year earlier, to $18.5 million.

Bankers think the regulatory environment is bad already, but it could get worse as regulators crack down harder on rules violators, hold directors and foreign banks to stricter standards and tackle "too big to fail," a top banking lawyer says.

Trustmark (TRMK) in Jackson, Miss., reported net income that missed Wall Street estimates, largely because of a drop in fee income.

In New Zealand, numbers from the country's Reserve Bank show total credit card balances neared $6 billion in December - a record high and a sign people are returning to poor credit card habits not seen since before the global financial crisis.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) could fetch at least $2 billion for its commodities unit after it received bids from Blackstone Group LP (BX), Macquarie Group and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said.

Four shareholders of BankUnited (BKU) in Miami Lakes, Fla., plan to sell up to $291 million of common stock.

Helping people understand personal finances and empowering them to make better financial decisions ensures a better future for consumers, communities and our nation.

Iberiabank Corp. (IBKC) of Lafayette, La., reported higher quarterly earnings due to improved credit quality.

Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp (CRZY) in Buffalo, Wyo., is planning to convert to a state charter and repurchase preferred stock it issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

It's still unclear what New York's planned "BitLicense" actually is, but the New York Department of Financial Services says its license is meant to encourage Bitcoin businesses to operate and innovate in the state.

UMB Financial (UMBF) in Kansas City, Mo., reported a big jump in profits as the company benefited from loan growth and a rise in fee income.

Lynn Harton, formerly president of The South Financial Group before it was sold several years ago, was promoted to president of United Community Bank in Georgia this week.