Second-quarter earnings at First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) declined from a year ago as the Itasca, Ill., company's net interest income fell and its provision for loan losses increased.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYB) on Wednesday posted a 10% jump in second-quarter profits driven by robust refinancing activity on multifamily loans and strong prepayment penalty income.

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., is succeeding in growing loans, but it is problems are picking up, too.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) reported a dip in quarterly earnings because of a higher loan-loss provision and tighter margins.

Strong loan growth at BankUnited (BKU) helped the Miami Lakes, Fla., company post higher second-quarter income and beat analysts' expectations.

A brand consultant recently suggested that more banks could put the financial crisis behind them simply by developing new logos and brands. Here are a few financial institutions that have reinvented themselves in recent years.

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.