The Treasury Department said Wednesday it has completed the sale of pools of securities backed by small business loans, marking the end of another piece of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

BankUnited Inc., which last week confirmed a short-lived effort to sell itself, said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose nearly 50% from a year earlier, to $41 million.

Iberiabank Corp.'s reported increased quarterly earnings Wednesday, though merger-related costs and impairment charges caused the company to fall shy of Wall Street's expectations.

After spending much of 2011 watching its loans shrink, PrivateBancorp Inc. in Chicago increased its loans by nearly 4% during the fourth quarter. That boost was enough to lift analysts' confidence and estimates.

Trustmark Corp. in Jackson, Miss., said late Tuesday that fourth-quarter net income fell 10% from a quarter earlier, to $24.3 million.

Hudson City Bancorp Inc. swung to a fourth-quarter loss as the lender paid off about $4.3 billion in high-cost debt, though loan-loss provisions and charge-offs declined.

Commerce Bancshares Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., said late Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profits were flat from a year earlier, at $61.5 million, following the settlement of a class-action lawsuit.

BancorpSouth Inc. in Tupelo, Miss., raised $109.3 million in a common stock offering, a week after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

Southwest Bancorp Inc. in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday posted a fourth-quarter loss after shedding $300 million in problem assets through a bulk loan sale.

Trepp LLC's Matthew Anderson on the disadvantages giant banks face and why midsize banks will survive.

Data published this month provides support for criticism of the small business lending program as a backdoor exit from Tarp for small banks. Institutions that used SBLF capital to refinance bailout infusions increased such loans at far lower rates than peers.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc. reported improved fourth-quarter profits due to a lower loan-loss provision and higher prices for foreclosed properties.

Fueled by balance sheet growth, Signature Bank’s fourth-quarter profits rose 32% from a year earlier, to $40 million.

Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, said in a regulatory filing Monday that that it will revise its 2010 financial statement, reducing its net income by $12.4 million.

Wilbur Ross says in an email to American Banker that BankUnited tried to sell only after an unnamed investment bank told management it could fetch a "substantial premium above market."

A dearth of failed banks and an artificially low interest rate environment are causing headaches for many firms that now must face an uphill climb before cashing out.

NBT Bancorp Inc. in Norwich, N.Y., said late Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 5% from a year earlier as lower interest yields squeezed its net interest margin.

The company, which staged a legal fight against the Durbin Amendment last year, took sizeable hits to interchange revenue in the fourth quarter.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Inc. in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Tuesday reported that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 63% from a year earlier, to $2.6 million, largely due to the purchase of a failed bank.

FirstMerit Corp. in Akron, Ohio, reported Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 13% from a year earlier, to $30.5 million, largely due to lower credit costs.