Retail & Commercial

First Merchants Corporation (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., reported net income Tuesday of $11.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, a 10.7% increase from same period in 2012.

Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and New Zealand are among the countries where local post offices provide a wide range of banking services.

Jeanne Hulit, the acting head of the Small Business Administration, is leaving Washington behind to join Northeast Bank in Lewiston, Maine, as the president of its Northeast community banking division.

Bankers feel more optimistic about their business as crisis memories fade, and more open-minded about M&A as deal prices rise, but concerns about compliance challenges and regulators' tough reviews of merger applications are keeping their enthusiasm in check.

S&T Bancorp (STBA) of Indiana, Pa., said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit increased 25% from the same period in 2012, to $11.9 million, due largely to improved asset quality and solid growth in both consumer and commercial loans.

Southern First Bancshares (SFST) in Greenville, S.C., used a private placement to convert preferred stock tied to the Troubled Asset Relief Program into common stock.

The Los Angeles company had to negotiate with the government, private equity, nonprofits and other banks to recapitalize its bank.

Charlie Shrem, the digital currency entrepreneur indicted on money laundering charges, has resigned as vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation.

New York's financial regulator today said that the state will propose regulations for oversight of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin this year.

First Financial Holdings (SCBT) of Columbia, S.C., reported net income Tuesday of $13.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, a 44.7% increase from the same quarter in 2012.