Tighter margins. Anxious commercial customers. Fresh memories of bad risks taken. These are a few of the limitations acting on Fifth Third, BB&T, PNC and other regional banks as they try to improve on progress made last year.

A group's plan to open a de novo bank in southeastern Pennsylvania could open the door for more bank charters.

Southcoast Financial Corp. (SOCB) in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., swung to a profit in the fourth quarter thanks to improvements to its loan portfolio and a lower cost of funds.

Piggyback litigation often follows regulatory actions, and the laws under the CFPB's jurisdiction all but invite follow-on private lawsuits. A huge number of companies may be exposed.

Citigroup's disappointing fourth-quarter report included an unexpected $500 million legal reserve related to its U.S. consumer businesses, as the CFPB reviews the bank's card products.

The fast-growing Berkshire Bank in Pittsfield, Mass., hopes that features like community rooms with video-game systems will attract customers as it enters new markets.

Westamerica Bancorp. (WABC) in San Rafael, Calif., reported lower quarterly earnings as low interest rates and competition took a bite out of its bottom line.

Bank of America laid more of its mortgage demons to rest, and reported strong earnings from global banking and wealth management.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was set to unleash an additional series of rules Thursday dictating how mortgage servicers interact with homeowners. The mandates are likely to come as highly unwelcome news to the industry.

A dissident investor has swapped out its candidate to join the board of First Financial Northwest (FFNW) in Renton, Wash.

More than six years after the onset of the worst U.S. real estate slump, Florida had the biggest increase in home seizures last year and the highest foreclosure rate, RealtyTrac said.

Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) of Little Rock, Ark., posted a fourth-quarter profit gain despite sliding interest income, thanks in part to an acquisition that closed late in the year.

Suffolk Bancorp of Riverhead, N.Y., continues to reinvent its management team, this time hiring James Gay as its chief credit officer.

Scottrade Bank has hired a former executive at TCF Financial (TCB) to launch an equipment finance unit.

Commercial customers will remain hesitant to spend, and thus borrow, until lawmakers resolve the uncertainties over the budget and economy, Huntington CEO Stephen Steinour says in an outlook that juggles optimism and caution.

Citizens First in Bowling Green, Ky., reported higher quarterly results as improved lending offset higher expenses.

Pan Pacific Bank in Fremont, Calif., reported another profitable quarter. The $113.3 million-asset bank earned $330,000 in the fourth quarter, compared to a $544,000 loss a year earlier.

Republic Bancorp (RBCAA) in Louisville, Ky., posted higher quarterly earnings after booking gains tied to recent failed-bank acquisitions.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp in Arlington took a quarterly hit to earnings after exiting the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Smith, who retired this month after seven years as CEO of Fulton Financial in Pennsylvania, gives the cold, hard truth about leadership and puts it in historical terms.