Loans to a wide range of businesses contributed to a nearly 7% increase in lending, executives of the Dallas bank said.

Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) in San Rafael, Calif., said Tuesday that its first-quarter earnings fell 6.2%, to $21.8 million, from the same period in 2011 as the company intentionally curtailed its lending in response to persistently low interest rates and fierce competition for quality loans.

Citigroup has ulterior financial motives in trying to oust Highland as portfolio manager of Liberty CLO, Highland says in a lawsuit against Citi and two other firms.

At an otherwise-placid annual shareholder meeting held outside of New York City for the first time, Citigroup (C) shareholders dealt a blow to management and the board of directors by rejecting ratification of the bank's executive-compensation proposal.

Big cost hits on debit and credit cards have already happened, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has not made any overly threatening moves yet, Davis says.

The state of Hawaii has sued seven major credit card issuers over the marketing of credit card insurance-like products, known as payment protection plans.

The residential mortgage division of Ally Financial Inc. missed a scheduled payment on its debt Tuesday, laying the groundwork for an eventual default if the payment is not made up quickly.

United Community Banks (UCBI) in Blairsville, Ga., has registered the preferred shares it issued to the Treasury Department as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program for potential resale, a key step for banks that want to be included in any upcoming auctions of Tarp shares.

As bank earnings come rolling in, signs of life are reemerging even as the pressure to cut costs remains intense.

DENVER – State regulators on Friday approved applications from $2 billion Bellco CU and $225 million Denver Community CU to serve almost 450,000 residents in Adams County, making at least five of the state's biggest credit unions authorized to serve the fast-growing county, which includes the Denver bedroom communities of Arvada and Aurora and part of the city of Denver.

Fueled by commercial real estate loan growth and stronger credit quality, Webster Financial (WBS) of Waterbury, Conn., reported first-quarter earnings of $38.3 million, up more than 13% from a year earlier.

According to American folklore, the famously long-legged Abraham Lincoln was once asked: "Abe, how long should a man's legs be?" Lincoln is reported to have answered: "Long enough to reach the ground."

Grant Thornton has hired a former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. employee as a managing director in its national bank regulatory practice.

Comerica Inc.'s (CMA) first-quarter earnings rose 26% as the financial-services company posted loan growth and a sharp decrease in loan-loss provisions.

Too-big-to-fail stifles economic growth. Oligopolies and asset concentration strangle competition and suppress innovation, job creation and free markets in financial services, as they once did in oil, steel and telecommunications.

U.S. Bancorp's (USB) first-quarter profit rose 28% as the lender sharply reduced its credit costs and turned in better-than-expected revenue growth.

CNB Financial (CCNE) of Clearfield, Pa., reported first-quarter income of $4.3 million, up almost 33% from a year earlier, as net interest income and total loans rose.

MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin CU opened its fourth Milwaukee area branch in a newly constructed building in the Town of Brookfield.

GROTON, Conn. – Charter Oak FCU, the one-time credit union for Electric Boat submarine builders, unveiled plans for a new 60,000-square-foot, $16-million office project in nearby Waterford.

WSFS Financial (WSFS) in Wilmington, Del., says that a discounted loan program it established late last year to help spur small-business expansion has been so well-received that the company is extending it through the end of June.