Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) posted a fourth-quarter profit of $47.8 million, up 2.4% from a year earlier.

Susquehanna Bancshares (SUSQ) in Lititz, Pa., announced several executive changes.

People's United (PBCT) in Bridgeport, Conn., reported a dip in quarterly profits as income from sales of residential mortgage loans fell.

Regulators' attempt to carve out an exemption for small banks from a key part of the Volcker Rule satisfied most institutions that feared getting swallowed up in the Dodd-Frank Act provision, but left others still vulnerable to the regulation and facing significant losses.

The economy is showing signs of life. But executives at PNC, Huntington and BB&T remain cautious about investing in new businesses, products or markets that raise expenses or hurt efficiency ratios.

Bay Commercial Bank (BCML) in Walnut Creek, Calif., has agreed to buy Bank On It Inc. (BKOT) in Stockton, Calif.

Community Trust Bancorp (CTBI) in Pikeville, Ky., posted lower profit in the fourth quarter as sanctions tied to a Federal Reserve Board investigation took a bite out of earnings.

Westamerica Bancorp (WABC) of San Rafael, Calif., posted net income of $16.1 million for the fourth quarter, a 16.1% decrease from a year earlier.

Chain Bridge Bancorp in McLean, Va., has hired a former Wells Fargo (WFC) banker as its bank's president.

Bank Mutual (BKMU) in Brown Deer, Wis., reported higher earnings due mostly to improved credit quality.

Simmons First National (SFNC) in Pine Bluff, Ark., plans to close 27 branches, according to regulatory filings.

PrivateBancorp (PVTB) in Chicago posted higher quarterly earnings because of improved credit quality and lower expenses.

MB Financial (MBFI) in Chicago reported a minor dip in quarterly earnings as net interest income fell.

Flagstar Bancorp (FBC) in Troy, Mich., announced Thursday it is laying off approximately 600 employees as part of a cost cutting measure.

Soo Bong Min, the president and chief executive of BBCN Bank in Los Angeles, has stepped down after less than a year on the job.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) posted fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates as the lender set aside less money for soured loans.

Coconut Grove Bank in Miami has appointed a new chief financial officer: Samuel Milne, the former CFO of the struggling U.S. Century Bank.

Malvern Bancorp (MLVF) in suburban Philadelphia announced Wednesday the resignation of president and chief executive Ronald Anderson.

Community Bank-Wheaton/Glen Ellyn in Illinois has been released from a cease-and-desist order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state regulators.

WASHINGTON — Changes in overall loan balances were muted in the last six weeks of 2013, with bankers in some regions reporting minor growth and those in other parts of the country seeing volume remain stagnant, the Federal Reserve Board said Wednesday.