Energy industry

The U.S. territory has some of the nation’s highest electricity prices, but a new law spurred by Puerto Rico’s cooperativas could be a game changer for the island.

At least five banks have warned about the potential loss of tax benefits if it is proven that DC Solar operated an investor scheme.

The bank gained $45 million in PACE financings, which let homeowners pay back the costs of efficiency projects over time.

James McLemore, one of our community bankers to watch in 2019, has more energy loans to purge and must exit the Small Business Lending fund and a BSA-related enforcement action.

Banks can handle the energy-linked loans they've extended — as long as oil prices don't drop much below $50 per barrel, analysts are saying.

Bank7, which aims to raise $75 million, also has extensive dealings in the hospitality industry. The company has completed two acquisitions since 2011.

Jacobs Asset Management, which expressed frustration over a slow turnaround at MidSouth, said it could launch a proxy battle at next year's annual meeting.

The Oklahoma bank’s net charge-offs were its second-highest in the last five quarters, but the company said it was confident in its credit quality outlook and growth prospects from a pending acquisition.

The Mississippi company said it has recorded most of the expected charge-offs tied to the last severe decline in oil prices.

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.

The Louisiana company, which recorded a large loan-loss provision to cover energy-related chargeoffs, also disclosed a new regulatory order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.