The three Southeast banks, each slow to shake off its troubles, report first-quarter results next week. Improvement is expected from each, though plenty of challenges remain.

Park National (PRK) in Newark, Ohio, announced Friday that it will repay the $100 million it received from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program by issuing new debt and reducing its short-term investments.

Western Alliance Bancorp.'s (WAL) shares were up more than 3% Friday after the Phoenix company reported that its first-quarter income more than tripled from a year ago.

Glacier Bancorp (GBCI) in Kalispell, Mont., is off to a strong start in 2012 and its chief executive is optimistic that its performance will only improve as the company streamlines its operating structure and continues to shed problem assets.

Lower expenses and better credit quality led National Penn Bancshares of Boyertown, Pa., reporting a 62% increase, to $25.3 million, year over year in its first quarter earnings.

Large and midsized banks reported strong commercial loan growth in the first quarter. The question now is whether it's sustainable.

City National (CYN) in Los Angeles is eyeing acquisitions of both banks and asset management firms and its chief executive has no preference for one over the other.

Few managers manage costs. Instead, they manage the elements around cost, such as headcount. That never illuminates how work can be done differently to create permanent operating efficiencies.

Two years after regulators gave Americans more power to manage overdrafts of their checking accounts, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reviewing bank practices to determine if the crackdown went far enough.

The acting head of the FHFA said Thursday he is “deeply concerned” about underwater borrowers, but that forbearance plans and short sales already serve as forms of principal reduction.

Capital One Financial (COF) has set aside an additional $75 million in its reserve in the first quarter of 2012, saying some of its salespeople did not adhere to its practices in trying to sell additional products to credit card customers.

Supporters of allowing more business lending by credit unions get nods from a consumer group and a group of conservatives and free-market organizations. Meanwhile, a Michigan credit union joins banks in opposing the measure.

Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) of Green Bay, Wis., is coming off its most profitable quarter since before the financial crisis.

Simmons First National (SFNC) of Pine Bluff, Ark., reported a first-quarter profit of $6.4 million, up roughly 25% from a year earlier as its loan-loss provision fell.

Capital One Financial Corp.'s (COF) first-quarter profit rose 38% as an acquisition-related bargain purchase gain boosted the bank's bottom-line results and net charge-offs improved.

The uptick in KeyCorp's set-aside for bad loans was unsurprising considering it had reported credits in some recent quarters, CEO Beth Mooney says. She emphasized declining chargeoffs and a focus on niche lending.

First-quarter results made a convincing case that B of A's core businesses are firming up, even as baggage from the financial crisis continued to weigh on the company.

Patrice Ficklin, the CFPB's assistant director for fair lending, provided a glimpse into the bureau's fair lending work at a housing conference in Washington Wednesday.

The MBA head and former FHA commissioner talks about the biggest issues facing the mortgage industry.

Before the financial crisis, having a 1% ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets was the baseline between good and bad banks. In the new normal, breaking that glass bottom appears to be the new goal for greatness.