Retail & Commercial

The collapse in oil prices hammered fourth-quarter profits at Hancock Holding as the Gulfport, Miss., sharply boosted its loan-loss provision address weakness in its energy loan book.

At least five regional banks on Thursday discarded concerns about the global economy, stocks, interest rates and credit quality, forecasting loan growth for the rest of this year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. handed community bankers a critical win on Thursday by rescinding a plan to treat reciprocal deposits as brokered deposits in the calculation of small-institution assessments.

F.N.B. in Pittsburgh said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 0.5% from a year earlier, to $37.1 million.

Fourth-quarter earnings reports probably couldn't have been scheduled for a worse time. Banks reported results (and sometimes good ones) right as the markets and the price of oil tanked. The cold reception from investors and analysts is a reminder of how sometimes the analysis of a banks' numbers has little to do with the past quarter, and more to do what's going on right now.

Subtly altered versions of popular apps are appearing more often on smartphones. These rogue apps, often available for free, can steal mobile banking passwords or redirect text messages containing passcodes.

Webster Financial Corp. in Waterbury, Conn., said loan growth and higher returns from its HSA Bank subsidiary helped its fourth-quarter profit rise 4.5% year over year, to $50.6 million.

Aquesta Financial Services in Cornelius, N.C., has acquired an insurance portfolio from James E. Moore Agency in Wilmington, N.C.

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., plans to shut down an auto leasing business it inherited after buying Susquehanna Bancshares in Lititz, Pa.

The CFPB announced Thursday that Herbies Auto Sales must provide $700,000 in refunds to customers and pay a $100,000 fine to resolve allegations it hid finance charges and deceived consumers purchasing vehicles.