West Virginia

Premier Financial Bancorp in Huntington, W.Va., has consolidated five of its banks into one that it has branded Premier Bank.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. in Huntington, W.Va., said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell nearly 50% from a year earlier, to $2.5 million.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. said its regulator, citing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, had rejected a request to let it pay dividends.

Though it's the big banks that are working with energy companies, smaller institutions still expect huge opportunities, some risks aside, to serve ancillary businesses and consumers.

United Bankshares Inc. in Charleston, W.Va., said it expects a $15 million insurance claim payment to help lift its fourth-quarter earnings.

United Bankshares Inc. announced Thursday that it has agreed to buy Centra Financial Holdings Inc. for $187 million.

Recent lawsuits could stop community banks in at least two states from deliberately processing the largest transactions first — a method that triggers additional overdrafts and thus higher fees — after a California judge ruled against Wells Fargo & Co. last month.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. in Huntington, W.Va., plans to roll up five of its unit banks into one. The $1.1 billion-asset multibank holding company said Tuesday it would merge these units: Boone County Bank in Madison, W.Va.; First Central Bank in Philippi, W.Va.; Traders Bank in Ravenswood, W.Va.; Adams National Bank in Washington; and Consolidated Bank and Trust in Richmond, Va. The combined entity would have $800 million of assets.

Summit Financial Group Inc. in Moorefield, W.Va., said Friday that it narrowed its second-quarter loss 14.5% from a year earlier.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. cannot pay dividends without prior approval from regulators and must bolster its board oversight under an enforcement action the Federal Reserve filed Friday.