Astoria Financial (AF) in Lake Success, N.Y., said after markets closed Wednesday that its first-quarter earnings fell 64% from the same period a year earlier, to $10 million, due to higher deposit insurance premiums, an increase in its loan-loss provision, and $3.4 million in severance costs relating to recent staff cuts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to pursue actions against lenders for discriminatory practices, even when that discrimination is unintentional.

Two New England banking companies are getting closer to requiring their directors to stand for election yearly.

As if Bank of America doesn't have enough to deal with, a spoof Web site popped up Wednesday and published a fake letter from Chief Executive Brian Moynihan claiming the bank "isn't working anymore."

FAIRFAX, Va. – Apple FCU opened its 21st branch last week, inside the Winchester Medical Complex.

American Express (AXP), the largest credit-card issuer by spending, posted a 7% increase in first-quarter earnings as customers used their cards more and loan quality improved.

Bank of the West has created a private mortgage banking team that will largely cater to the bank's wealth management clients.

The Columbus, Ohio, bank's chief is happy about its first-quarter loan growth but says he is taking steps to ensure it doesn't get ahead of the economy.

Annapolis Bancorp (ANNB) has repaid half of the $8.2 million it owed the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

S.Y. Bancorp (SYBT) in Louisville, Ky., posted record earnings in the first quarter even as its loan portfolio is beginning to show some cracks.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. on Wednesday posted a 76% first-quarter jump in mortgage banking revenue from a year earlier, as the bank saw robust growth in multi-family and commercial real estate loans.

PacWest Bancorp of Los Angeles said Wednesday that its first-quarter earnings fell 50% from a year earlier, to $5.3 million, due to largely to costs related to prepaying $225 million of fixed-rate term Federal Home Loan Bank advances.

Costs related to the integration of RBC Bank weighed down PNC's first-quarter earnings, but officials emphasized the acquisition's early — and long-term — benefits.

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated support Wednesday for mortgage principal reductions at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A surge in mortgage lending powered Cardinal Financial (CFNL) in McLean, Va., to a $7.7 million profit in the first quarter, an increase of nearly 47% from the same period in 2011.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it plans to follow the Justice Department's lead in pursuing fair lending violations when a policy has a disparate impact on a group of borrowers, unintentional or not.

A proxy battle at First Financial Northwest has gotten nasty after an activist investor labeled the company's leaders as "idiots" who are "deficient in judgment or lacking in character."

The pace of bank failures will slow considerably this year as the industry continues to recover from the real estate bust, according to the acting head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Banks are clamoring to lend to the most creditworthy small businesses, even as credit availability remains broadly limited.

Cathay General Bancorp of Los Angeles reported first-quarter earnings of $24.8 million, up roughly 38% from a year earlier, as credit quality improved