Commercial lending

Regional banks need all the growth opportunities they can get, and Fifth Third says it has found one in catering to European businesses that need to expand in North America to escape domestic economic issues.

Iberiabank in Lafayette, La., neutralized the energy issues common to Gulf region lenders these days with a one-two punch of stronger fee income and robust, more profitable lending.

Some midsize banks found ways to widen margins, and Texas lenders said weakness in the energy sector has had little effect on the broader Texas economy. But can those trends hold up?

Hedgeable sees the peer-to-peer business and personal loans as an alternative to fixed-income investments that are traditionally offered through exchange-traded funds.

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday reported higher than expected quarterly profits due to loan growth from a recent acquisition.

Problem technology credits drove down quarterly profits at Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., which said it will pull back on tech lending even though that had become one of its most important niches.

Despite charging off millions of dollars of energy loans, the parent company of San Francisco-based MUFG Union Bank rode higher affiliate fees, securities gains and expense cutbacks to quarterly profit growth.

Banc of California's second-quarter profits soared on stronger lending and credit quality. The $10.2 billion-asset company increased net income 66% from a year earlier to $26.5 million, it said in a news release Thursday.

The Green Bay, Wis., company reported net income of $47 million in the second quarter, down about 1.5% from the same period last year. Associated's profitability was constrained by a $14 million provision for loan losses.

WASHINGTON — Two top Senate Democrats are calling on financial regulators to better examine the role of financial technology firms and how their activities interact with the existing regulatory structure.