Webster Financial Corp. in Waterbury, Conn., said loan growth and higher returns from its HSA Bank subsidiary helped its fourth-quarter profit rise 4.5% year over year, to $50.6 million.

Aquesta Financial Services in Cornelius, N.C., has acquired an insurance portfolio from James E. Moore Agency in Wilmington, N.C.

ASB Bancorp in Asheville, N.C., has agreed to appoint to its board the activist investor Lawrence Seidman and another representative picked by Seidman.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., is the latest bank to partner with an online lender, announcing an agreement Thursday to refer certain small-business customers to OnDeck Capital.

Millennials may have initially been the primary target for digital banking services, but we must bust the myth that they're the only ones craving innovation.

Texas Capital Bancshares in Dallas reported lower quarterly profit that largely reflected an increased provision for energy loan losses.

WestStar Bank in El Paso, Texas, has new leadership after the retirement of Larry Patton, its president and chief executive.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., reported little change in its fourth-quarter profit, as costs from its acquisition of Palmetto Bancshares ate into lending revenue and fee income.

Anthony Weagley is combining a new emphasis on wealth management with Malvern's reputation as a small-town community bank to bolster the Pennsylvania company's financial performance.

Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville, Tenn., has agreed to buy a bigger stake in Bankers Healthcare Group in Southwest Ranches, Fla.

BlueVine, a Palo Alto, Calif., firm that is aiming to modernize the invoice-financing business, announced a new fundraising round on Wednesday.

The Current Expected Loss Credit model will help to quantify bankers' intuition and can be built with readily available data.

Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pa., reported a slight increase in its fourth-quarter profit as strong fee-income growth helped to offset a decline in its net interest margin.

Wintrust Financial's fourth-quarter earnings fell 7% from a year earlier, to $35.5 million, as a revenue surge failed to offset the higher costs associated with recent acquisitions.

A number of community banks have gotten into government-backed small-business lending by buying firms or poaching talent. While the business seems lucrative now, there are concerns that too many banks may be jumping into the pool.

TotalBank in Miami said it has promoted Jay Pelham to president, succeeding Luis de la Aguilera, who left the company in December to lead U.S. Century Bank in Doral, Fla.

Labor-intensive cross-marketing programs, which were beyond the scope of small marketing departments, are suddenly feasible thanks to automation.

Mackinac Financial in Manistique, Mich., has agreed to buy First National Bank of Eagle River in Wisconsin.

First Midwest Bancorp in Itasca, Ill., plans to close branches and sell unwanted real estate as customers shift to online banking.

The former chief marketing officer of the failed Mirae Bank in Los Angeles was arrested following an eight-count indictment stemming from alleged loan fraud.