After a surprising fall swoon, demand for commercial loans bounced back in December. Lenders, meanwhile, are paying much more attention to how falling energy prices could impact loan portfolios.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta reported a decline quarterly profits as the accounting benefits related to its failed-bank purchases continued to wane.

Banks have made progress cutting their exposure to risky home equity lines of credit, ahead of a key 10-year threshold when billions of dollars of them will reset to higher monthly payments. But there are some prominent exceptions, especially among regional banks.

Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., reported higher quarterly profit that benefitted from a sizable reserve release.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday proposed a series of regulatory relief measures for small institutions, especially those in rural areas, to help them provide credit while they try to follow the agency's tough mortgage rules.

Banks with $35 billion or less in assets are slowly recovering financially, as revenue and profit improved in the fourth quarter. Here is a look at how more than 240 banks tracked by American Banker finished off 2014.

Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., fell short of Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter because of a decline in fee-based income.

Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., has has agreed to buy Merchants and Southern Banks of Florida in Gainesville, along with a number of Bank of America branches.

Banks like Cullen/Frost and BOK Financial say they have found one, in the form of higher energy-sector loan balances last quarter and the chance to finance consolidation among oil firms. But such spurts may only mask longer-term problems.

Dumping entire categories of clients is a crude and inappropriate reaction to large fines, says Stephen Platt, author of Criminal Capital: How the Finance Industry Facilitates Crime." However, he says, regulators should hold a dialogue with banks and attempt to accommodate businesses that carry high risk but whose services are desperately required, such as remittances to war-torn Somalia.

EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., reported higher quarterly results largely because of increased commercial originations.

Sun Bancorp's CEO made a bold forecast, telling analysts this week that the company should be profitable throughout the year. Not bad for a bank that has lost $350 million since 2008

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., reported lower quarterly profits after taking a loss on certain alternative investments.

Anchor Bancorp in Madison, Wis., has agreed to sell one of its branches to Royal Bank in Elroy, Wis.

Doral Financial in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said that the FDIC has placed its bank under a prompt corrective action directive, an enforcement order that is often considered one of the last public warnings before regulators move to place the bank into conservatorship.

Cullen/Frost Bankers in San Antonio has a new president.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has agreed to buy MoneyTree Corp. in Lenoir City, Tenn.

Farmers National Banc Corp. in Canfield, Ohio, has agreed to buy National Bancshares in Orrville, Ohio.

Zions Bancorp. on Monday reported improvement in its net interest margin and noninterest revenue, along with progress in regards to the Volcker Rule and its funding mix. But at Zions, as at other banks, progress was overshadowed by concerns over falling oil prices.

FirstMerit in Akron, Ohio, reported higher quarterly earnings as cost controls compensated for a decline in interest income.