Banking

Trustmark (TRMK) in Jackson, Miss., reported net income that missed Wall Street estimates, largely because of a drop in fee income.

In New Zealand, numbers from the country's Reserve Bank show total credit card balances neared $6 billion in December - a record high and a sign people are returning to poor credit card habits not seen since before the global financial crisis.

There's a reason Bitcoin startups have such a hard time getting or keeping bank accounts. Providing banking services to firms that exchange the digital currency requires a higher level of due diligence than banking traditional money services businesses, says Henry Balani, a managing director at Accuity. The anonymous (or pseudonymous) nature of Bitcoin addresses presents higher risk, he says.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) could fetch at least $2 billion for its commodities unit after it received bids from Blackstone Group LP (BX), Macquarie Group and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said.

Four shareholders of BankUnited (BKU) in Miami Lakes, Fla., plan to sell up to $291 million of common stock.

Helping people understand personal finances and empowering them to make better financial decisions ensures a better future for consumers, communities and our nation.

Iberiabank Corp. (IBKC) of Lafayette, La., reported higher quarterly earnings due to improved credit quality.

Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp (CRZY) in Buffalo, Wyo., is planning to convert to a state charter and repurchase preferred stock it issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bank of North Carolina is arming its employees with tablet software that helps them open accounts and aids their cross-selling pitches.

It's still unclear what New York's planned "BitLicense" actually is, but the New York Department of Financial Services says its license is meant to encourage Bitcoin businesses to operate and innovate in the state.

UMB Financial (UMBF) in Kansas City, Mo., reported a big jump in profits as the company benefited from loan growth and a rise in fee income.

Lynn Harton, formerly president of The South Financial Group before it was sold several years ago, was promoted to president of United Community Bank in Georgia this week.

TCF Financial (TCB) in Wayzata, Minn., was buoyed by improved credit quality in the fourth quarter.

New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) in Westbury, N.Y., reported a dip in fourth-quarter profit as mortgage banking revenue fell, but it still but still beat analysts' expectations.

Hudson City Bancorp, the target of the biggest pending bank takeover in the U.S., said it's planning to reduce interest rate risks and that the effort will produce an unspecified loss.

When taken together, the posts in our What Customers Want series thus far point to opportunities for banks to innovate around the good old George Bailey banking model.

BOK Financial (BOKF) in Tulsa, Okla., reported lower quarterly earnings after mortgage banking revenue fell.

Branches are vital to attracting new customers and cross-selling to existing ones, but they're also expensive. Some banks, like Washington Federal (WAFD) and U.S. Bancorp (USB), continue to add branches. But most institutions are focused on pruning their networks to cut costs. Here's a sampling of how banks are adjusting branch networks to suit changing strategies.

It's still unclear what New York's planned "BitLicense" actually is, but the New York Department of Financial Services says its license is meant to encourage Bitcoin businesses to operate and innovate in the state.

President Obama used his State of the Union address Tuesday evening to call for the creation of a new government-backed retirement savings account and reiterate a call for comprehensive housing finance reform.