New York

Signature Bank in New York is poised to start lending to city governments. The move is well-timed; the wind-down of GE Capital removes a competitor and provides Signature with a chance to buy assets and hire salespeople.

First Niagara Financial Group in Buffalo, N.Y., said its first-quarter profit declined because of costs tied to its technology upgrade and lower spread income.

Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., topped Wall Street expectations despite a drop in revenue. The $15.5 billion-asset company reported a 39% decrease in net income from a year earlier, to $19.3 million.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., posted stronger earnings in the first quarter on higher net interest income and a reduction in expenses.

Bank of New York Mellon, under pressure from activist investors to improve results, reported a 16% increase in first-quarter profit as the stock market rally lifted assets and fees for overseeing them, and expenses declined.

Arrow Financial in Glens Falls, N.Y., reported a double-digit profit increase in the first quarter as strong loan growth in its three major business lines helped to offset flat noninterest income and higher expense.

The first quarter was another banner one for Signature Bank in New York, which reported record net income of $83.4 million, topping its 2014 first-quarter results by 26%.

M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., reported an increase in its first-quarter profit on the strength of higher mortgage banking revenue, but its results fell well short of analysts’ estimates as loan growth failed to meet expectations.

LATHAN, N.Y. — Community Resource Federal Credit Union's board of directors has named Terry Langlois as the new president and CEO, effective May 1.

It took Hudson City Bancorp in Paramus, N.J., less than two weeks to decide that it is still committed to selling itself to M&T Bank in Buffalo.

Hudson City Bancorp faces a U.S. government investigation into discriminatory lending practices, according to two people familiar with the matter, posing a potential new hurdle in the bank's long-delayed sale to M&T Bank Corp.

Financial Institutions Inc. in Warsaw, N.Y., increased the size of its debt offering by 14% due to high demand.

Financial Institutions Inc. in Warsaw, N.Y., has begun a $35 million debt offering to help fund growth.

Novantas, a New York-based bank advisory firm, has hired the former head of analytics for Bank of America.

An "unexpected" regulatory delay has forced M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., and Hudson City Bancorp in Paramus, N.J., to delay their merger for the fourth time.

Home BancShares in Conway, Ark., has found another opportunity in the failure of Doral Bank.

NEW YORK — A Columbia University review of financial statements at merchants like Sony, Target and Home Depot reveals that merchants barely notice the financial hit they take as the result of data breaches.

RYE, N.Y. — PepsiCo Employees Federal Credit Union will merge into USAlliance Federal Credit Union, here, effective March 28.

Signature Bank in New York has opened a private banking office in Greenwich, Conn.

New York — McGraw-Hill FCU's "Financial Wellness Center" doesn't look like a typical credit union branch.