Finance

Loyalty programs are getting more sophisticated, but they still typically boil down to a game of collecting and redeeming points.

Fees from capital markets activities have propelled profits at several regional banks when they needed it —and just as the Glass-Steagall redux crowd wants to kill that business.

Strong gains in low-cost health savings account balances helped fuel loan growth at the Waterbury, Conn., company.

The Atlanta company's profits rose on stronger net interest income and investment banking income as well as a tax maneuver.

The Wisconsin regional's profits rose 35% in the first quarter on healthy loan growth, wider margins and an improved efficiency ratio, and it said its "satisfactory" CRA rating had been restored.

Payments volume and cross-border business helped drive the strong performance.

Executives at BB&T, KeyCorp and Citizens are milking commercial lending niches and balancing cost control with new investments while waiting for more rate hikes to fatten margins.

The deal is the latest coastal acquisition for United Community. For HCSB, the sale is the final chapter in a turnaround that began 13 months earlier.

Mariner Kemper, UMB's chief executive, said he struggled with the decision to sell Scout Investments to Raymond James. Selling made more sense than pumping more capital into the beleaguered business.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has given preliminary conditional approval for Winter Park National Bank, allowing organizers to work on office space, hire staff and raise capital.

The "Citizens Checkup" program to help customers set financial goals has come under fire, but CEO Bruce Van Saun says it is valuable and "here to stay," and that the criticism of it pales in comparison to the Wells Fargo scandal.

Citi has named David Chubak as head of global retail banking and mortgage for the global consumer bank, replacing Jonathan Larsen, who resigned late last year.

Earnings per share fell a nickel short of estimates due in part to lower-than-expected revenue from the origination and sale of mortgages.

The company has hired an investment bank to help it consider strategic alternatives, which could also include recapitalizing.

Despite merger-related charges, the Cleveland bank's first-quarter profit climbed 63% as the addition of a million new customers led to strong gains in both interest and fee income.

First-quarter earnings at the Providence, R.I., company jumped 45% thanks partly to improvements in its net interest margin, 7% loan growth and stronger card and other noninterest income.

The North Carolina company reported lower net income from a year earlier after extinguishing nearly $3 billion in Federal Home Loan bank advances. BB&T also reported more regulatory charges as it deals with a consent order.

The custody bank also won $109 billion worth of new asset-servicing business in the quarter, which pushed assets under custody to over $30 trillion.

Texas Capital Bancshares sharply reduced the size of its loan-loss provision as credit quality improved in its energy loan book. That helped the Dallas bank post a 77% rise in first-quarter profit.

The Mississippi company's first-quarter earnings rose 60% from a year earlier. Its results from last year were weighed down by a settlement with regulators.