Consumer advocates, regulators and others are encouraged when companies take a "we want to design the best product" approach rather than a "we want to meet a minimum threshold" approach.

Regions Financial's second-quarter earnings spiked as the Birmingham, Ala., company managed to reduce expenses and problem loans.

Second-quarter profits almost doubled at Zions Bancorporation (ZION) from a year earlier, but the Salt Lake City company's results still fell short of analysts' expectations.

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BancorpSouth posted lower earnings from the first quarter after adjusting for lower valuations in its mortgage servicing rights, the company said Monday.

Second-quarter profit at Eagle Bancorp (EGBN) rose 57% from a year ago, as the Bethesda, Md.-based company grew its loan portfolio and gathered more fee income.

Fueled by increased fee income, Chemical Financial (CHFC) in Midland, Mich., posted its highest quarterly earnings per share in more than six years.

Visa and MasterCard repeatedly have been targets of legal actions and legislation over their policies. It has cost them and their issuers billions over the years in settlements and lost revenue.

The Milstein family's recent sale of Emigrant Bank's New York branches shows how banks can innovate when they don't answer to a wide shareholder base.

The U.S. regulator overseeing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks has hired a consulting firm to create contingency plans for taking the mortgage-finance firms into receivership, according to contract documents.

S&T Bancorp's second-quarter profit fell 36% from the same quarter last year, to $8.6 million, as gains in fee income could not offset narrowing margins and an uptick in problem loans.

Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) in Warren, Pa., posted higher second-quarter earnings after delinquent and nonaccrual loans fell to their lowest levels in four years.

The Renton, Wash., company has spent more than $600,000 to fight an big outside investor, highlighting the cost of duking it out with irate shareholders.

Strong gains in fee income combined with improved asset quality powered West Coast Bancorp in Lake Oswego, Wash., to a $6 million profit in the second quarter, up 30% from the same period in 2010.

As banks try to raise revenue and improve their reputations, they are shaking up their relationships with the "mad men" of Wall Street, testing out new advertising to help refurbish their brands.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU announced this morning its Prudential PenFed Realty CUSO has acquired Prudential Professional Realty in Clarksville, Tenn., an independent franchise outside the Fort Campbell, Kentucky, military base, which has been rebranded as Prudential PenFed Realty.

Howard Bancorp in Ellicott City, Md., has raised $10.2 million through a public offering and private placement of common stock.

Lower noninterest expenses and a declining provision for credit losses led Bank of Hawaii (BOH) in Honolulu to second-quarter net income of $40.7 million, up almost 16% from a year earlier.

Bank sellers and buyers are seeing a steady pickup in business, including separate deals last week by Emigrant and WesBanco.

Metro Bancorp (METR) in Harrisburg, Pa., reported its most profitable quarter in nearly four years in the three months that ended June 30 as the company saw a modest increase in loans and revenues and continued to reduce its overhead.