Banking

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., reported a steep drop in quarterly earnings that reflected ongoing energy woes.

Discover Financial Services reported higher loan growth in its flagship credit-card business during the first quarter, reversing a trend that the company's leaders had vowed to address.

After another disappointing quarter, Comerica is promising big changes in its ongoing quest to improve returns to shareholders. It appears to be considering all options, including selling off business lines and perhaps even merging with another institution.

Sometimes boards have to police their own, as an insider-trading case involving a Pinnacle Financial director shows. The risks are especially high when banks enter confidential merger talks.

Discover Financial Services, the credit-card issuer that’s expanded to student lending and unsecured personal loans, posted first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as card spending increased.

Community Bank in Pasadena, Calif., said Tuesday that it has named Lyle Knight, a former CEO of First Interstate BancSystem in Billings, Mont., to its board.

Middleburg Financial in Middleburg, Va., is facing pressure from its biggest shareholder to find a buyer.

Several small and midsize banks generated large year-over-year loan growth despite a belief by some outsiders that a slowdown was looming. Bankers may have to spend coming months assuring investors that they can keep booking loans while adequately managing risk.

A federal appeals panel appeared receptive to striking two works from the Dodd-Frank Act that says the CFPB's director can be removed "for cause." Here's what that would mean.

A closer look at a strangely named piece of malicious software shows it makes crafty use of drive-by downloads and Web injections to fool users into complicity with online banking fraud.

Regions Financial has made clear that it wants to ramp up in consumer and small-business lending, and a big part of its strategy is teaming up with alternative lenders.

Farmers Bank in Frankfort, Ind., has named a new chief executive, after its previous leader died of cancer.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an attempt by Allstate Insurance Co. to stop a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action.

Richard Krauland will retire later this year as chief executive of NexTier Bank in Butler, Pa., after leading the institution through two mergers and name changes.

Revenue at Webster Financial in Waterbury, Conn., hit a record $240.6 million in the first quarter, but expenses related to its expansion in Boston and an uptick in net chargeoffs kept profits flat.

Summit State Bank in Santa Rosa, Calif., has a new chief executive.

Consumer credit default rates remained relatively flat in March despite a jump in bank card default rates, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.

Community banks are at a crossroads as they face a threat from alternative lenders and the need to stay true to the traditional bank model. What they should do?

Comerica reported a steep decline in first-quarter profits as weak energy prices forced the Dallas company to sharply boost its reserves for loan losses.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is seeking input from the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office on the future of policies dealing with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.