Commercial banking

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Tacoma, Washington-based Columbia Banking System said it will buy Pacific Premier Bancorp, accelerating its growth in Southern California by about a decade. The deal is Columbia's second major acquisition in three years.

The Raleigh, North Carolina-based company, which has been acquisitive in recent years, is more than halfway through a $3.6 billion share-repurchase plan. Executives said it's the best way to return capital to shareholders, but mergers remain part of its long-term strategy.

The Dallas-based regional bank doesn't plan to halt in-progress investments, but it may adjust the pace of spending this year, depending on which way the economy goes. It also made downward revisions to its outlook for average loans, net interest income, fee income and expenses.

The investment and custody bank beat Wall Street estimates on net income but missed on revenue expectations. An increase in fee revenue offset stagnant net interest income. Management expects more of the same for the rest of the year.

The parent company of Regions Bank released modest growth first-quarter earnings, anticipating a slowdown in the economy due to market volatility.

The super-regional bank cited "a material slowdown" in investment banking and trading income as one reason for the lower revenue forecast. Interest rates are also a factor, executives said.

One day after taking the helm as CEO, Gunjan Kedia was candid about the company's lagging stock price, telling analysts that she is "not happy" with it.

The Memphis-based bank said the pace and quantity of interest rate cuts will be a determining factor in its performance. In the first quarter, its deposit costs continued to fall, but those strides were offset by soft loan growth.

A string of senior resignations and scrutiny over share sales rocked Bank of America's local operations last year.