Kamal Mustafa, a former global head of M&A at Citibank who now helps to stress-test banks, fears another earnings crunch is coming and that bank valuations will sink lower than they are now.

Hovde Financial has hired two investment bankers, in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Chicago, as the community bank advisor braces for more deals.

Bankers who want to cash out ahead of a potential hike in the capital gains tax next year need to act fast, M&A experts say.

The yield curve flattened and it showed in margins among the first wave of banks to post second quarter results. But a sizeable group used some remaining levers – like the retirement of trust-preferred securities – to buck the trend.

Hampton Roads Bankshares's (HMPR) second-quarter loss narrowed from a year earlier as improveed credit quality aided the Norfolk, Va., company.

Trustmark Corporation in Jackson, Miss., said its second-quarter earnings fell 3% from the same period last year, to $29.3 million, as improved credit quality could not offset declines in fee income and total loans.

F.N.B. Corp. (FNB) in Hermitage, Pa., posted higher second-quarter profit as loan balances surged.

The Illinois company spent three years trying to keep its Kansas and Florida banks from failing. The company, which has other banks, is not off the hook yet because the FDIC could charge it for the cost of the failures.

The next six months are critical to the bank if it is to exit Tarp and stay independent, says Kessel Stelling, the Columbus, Ga., company’s chairman and CEO.

FirstMerit (FMER) in Akron, Ohio, trumped higher noninterest costs with more lending for a slight gain in quarterly profits.

Provident Bank in Montebello, N.Y., has recruited another team of lenders away from a rival bank as part of its broad plan to boost its commercial lending in the New York City area.

Double-digit loan growth boosted the bottom line more than 20% at Signature Bank (SBNY) in New York.

Synovus Financial (SNV) continued its comeback, reporting its fourth profitable quarter in a row.

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BancorpSouth posted lower earnings from the first quarter after adjusting for lower valuations in its mortgage servicing rights, the company said Monday.

Second-quarter profit at Eagle Bancorp (EGBN) rose 57% from a year ago, as the Bethesda, Md.-based company grew its loan portfolio and gathered more fee income.

Fueled by increased fee income, Chemical Financial (CHFC) in Midland, Mich., posted its highest quarterly earnings per share in more than six years.

The Milstein family's recent sale of Emigrant Bank's New York branches shows how banks can innovate when they don't answer to a wide shareholder base.

S&T Bancorp's second-quarter profit fell 36% from the same quarter last year, to $8.6 million, as gains in fee income could not offset narrowing margins and an uptick in problem loans.

Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) in Warren, Pa., posted higher second-quarter earnings after delinquent and nonaccrual loans fell to their lowest levels in four years.