With loan demand still weak in many areas of the country, more and more bankers are starting to believe that their banks will need to merge with other institutions to achieve meaningful growth.

Analysts at Sandler O'Neill & Partners have raised earnings estimates for City National Corp. after the Los Angeles company reported strong second-quarter earnings growth that was aided by improved asset quality and "promising" gains in its commercial-and-industrial loan portfolio.

The $22 billion-asset company reported net income available to shareholders of $25.6 million, compared to $15.4 million in the first quarter and a net loss of $10.2 million a year earlier.

Aided by improved credit quality and strong loan and deposit growth, Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston reported earnings of $35.1 million in the second quarter, up 10.5% from the same quarter in 2010.

MB Financial Inc., which took an aggressive stance on its credit by purging bad loans, reported a $10 million net loss available for shareholders during the second quarter.

Despite having negative equity, Albina Community Bancorp in Portland, Ore., managed to turn a profit for a second quarter in a row.

Last month, Hancock closed its all-stock takeover of Whitney in a deal valued at $1.3 billion.

SunTrust Banks Inc.'s second-quarter earnings soared as the amount the regional bank set aside to cover potential souring loans continued to abate and revenue edged up.

ROCKVILLE, Md. – National Institutes Of Health FCU, which serves the biomedical industry, opened a new branch in nearby Washington, D.C., during last month’s 2011 BIO International Convention.

MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin CU purchased a building housing a Borders bookstore, which is being liquidated starting today, where it plans to build a new branch.

WASHINGTON — House Republicans celebrated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's first day by advancing a bill that would dilute the bureau's authority.

Recent articles assert that banks will benefit if a director is confirmed for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That's wrong.

New report from the Federal Reserve estimates the cost to consumers last year for using government prepaid cards.

TCF Financial Corp. in Wayzata, Minn., reported earnings of $29.8 million in the second quarter, down 33% from a year earlier, as the company grapples with ways to replace fee income.

SVB Financial Group said Thursday that its second quarter earnings more than tripled what it made a year earlier, to $65.8 million.

ZestCash says it's the Google of alternative lending. Its rival BillFloat says it's Facebook.

At the eleventh hour, only days before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens, President Barack Obama officially nominated Richard Cordray to serve as director of the CFPB. But the appointment still requires Senate confirmation, and that will take time.

Hingham Institution for Savings in Massachusetts said Thursday that its second-quarter net income rose 22.6% to $3 million, from a year earlier, on growth of both deposits and loans.

Simmons First National Corp. in Pine Bluff, Ark., said Thursday that core earnings in the second quarter declined 4.6% from the same period last year, to $6.2 million.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced that it had entered into a written agreement with a banking company while also disclosing the termination of a prior order.