Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. in San Antonio said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 4% from a year earlier, due to improvements in credit quality and earning assets.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. in Westbury, N.Y., reported Wednesday that fourth-quarter profits fell more than 21% from a year earlier, to $117.7 million, due largely to a decline in noninterest income.

BillFloat Inc., a provider of credit and underwriting services, has hired a community banking veteran as a senior advisor.

UMB Financial Corp. in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday reported $23.3 million in fourth-quarter profits, up 22% from a year earlier but falling short of expectations.

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.