Energy industry

Lenders are taking steps to reduce exposure to fluctuations in oil prices, including getting tougher in demanding that drillers use commodity hedges.

The San Antonio company said that it has scaled back its exposure to energy loans in favor of a greater emphasis on loans of less $10 million.

Double-digit growth in personal loans and record wealth management revenue also helped the Tulsa, Okla., beat earnings forecasts.

Several banks suffered fourth-quarter hits when they reduced the value of certain energy investments. Still, renewable energy could remain a viable business thanks to other benefits embedded in the tax law.

The private equity firms plan to sell a total of 3 million shares in the Houston company in coming weeks.

MidSouth Bancorp in Lafayette, La., has appointed one of its regional executives to the newly created post of chief banking officer and moved to appoint a veteran turnaround banker to its board.

The assessment from the central bank means MidSouth faces restrictions on board appointments and executive duties. Last year the OCC called the Louisiana company a "troubled institution."

The energy crisis, hurricane damage and merger costs have hampered earnings per share at the Louisiana bank. Its CEO has to clear those hurdles and convince investors steady growth is ahead.

Manuel Mehos, CEO of Green Bancorp in Houston, looks back at his company’s decision to exit energy lending last year. “The oil business is not what it used to be,” he says.

The breadth and pace of change across banking and the rest of the business world is rapidly escalating, posing challenges for financial institutions and the economy alike, according to Robert Kaplan, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.