Regulatory hurdles and reduced earnings forecasts may sour PE's view of bank investment.

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles reported higher quarterly earnings Wednesday after recouping more covered losses from its failed-bank acquisitions.

Malvern Federal Bancorp Inc.'s stock price soared to its highest level since mid-summer Wednesday after the Paoli, Pa., company announced that it is converting from a mutual holding company to a 100% stock-owned company.

Western Liberty Bancorp in Las Vegas has established a new nonbank subsidiary to house problem assets of its bank subsidiary in a move it says will help it more quickly dispose of the troubled loans and improve its overall efficiency.

Provident New York Bancorp in Montebello said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Gotham Bank of New York for roughly $40.5 million in cash.

Select Bank & Trust Co. in Greenville, N.C., said Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of Gibsonville Community Bank from Bank of Atlanta.

Pulaski Financial Corp. in St. Louis said Tuesday that profits in its fiscal-year first quarter fell 3% from a year earlier, to $3 million, due to a slowdown in mortgage activity.

Landmark Bancorp Inc. in Manhattan, Kan., is buying Wellsville Bancshares Inc. in what would be its first bank acquisition in more than six years.

Weakened growth prospects and more regulatory hoops could prompt private equity firms to unload bank holdings.

BancorpSouth Inc. in Tupelo, Miss., on Tuesday reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter and hopes to parlay the good news into a successful capital-raising effort.

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Fulton Financial Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit rose from a year ago as it reduced nonperforming loans, but that its earnings per share missed analysts' estimates by two cents as net interest income shrunk.

The president and chief executive of First South Bancorp Inc. in Washington, N.C., is stepping down after more than three decades as its leader.

The Federal Reserve Board has ordered Southwest Florida Community Bancorp Inc. to maintain its health so that it can serve as a source of strength for its ailing bank subsidiary, First Community Bank of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers.

Strong loan growth combined with a surge in wealth management assets powered First Republic Bank in San Francisco to a $90.7 million profit in the fourth quarter, up 19% from the same period in 2010.

Dozens of small banks in California remain under enforcement actions, leading some industry observers to predict an impending wave of regulator-led consolidation.

Recent increases in bank stock values and the investment bank's success last year make William Hickey "guardedly optimistic," he says.

Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids, Mich., has now made money in four straight quarters and its auditors seem convinced that it will remain profitable for the foreseeable future.

Mariner Real Estate Management, a Kansas real estate investment and management firm, has acquired a 25% stake in a loan portfolio totaling about $101 million from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.