Net interest margin

Net income soared 32% thanks to higher interest rates that contributed to a wider net interest margin and its most interest income in a quarter in years.

More than half of all federally insured credit unions have less than $50 million of assets. But challenges, including increased demands for technology, are making it harder for small institutions to thrive, forcing some to look for merger partners.

The Pittsburgh bank reported a double-digit increase in 3Q profits on a mix of higher loan yields in its retail and corporate banking units, higher corporate service fees and several other factors.

The biggest U.S. bank leaned on old-fashioned lending in the third quarter to weather a slump in fixed-income trading.

A huge chunk of the profit increase in the second quarter was due to a lower tax rate, but rising net interest margins and loan growth signal that institutions continue to derive revenue from their loan book.

Prosperity Bancshares in Houston said that its earnings increased 19% from a year earlier as its efficiency ratio rose.

BankUnited in Miami Lakes, Fla., said that second-quarter earnings rose 36% as average loan and investment securities balances increased.

The combination of rising interest rates and increased competition from nonbank lenders is prompting many commercial real estate investors to seek better deals elsewhere.

Despite some green shoots in key credit segments, total loan growth was light at many banks last quarter. Rate hikes are threatened, and deposits will get pricier — where will the earnings come from?

Repayments on acquired residential mortgage loans were the main reason, but other bottom-line boosters more than made up for that, the Buffalo, N.Y., bank said in reporting second-quarter results.