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Looking past standard gauges of return on equity and return on assets, bank investors have wide opinions on what makes a bank a high-performing institution relative to peers.

A number of this year's top-performing banks have been able to ride the highs and lows of the economic cycle to still produce long-term returns to investors.

What makes for a high-performing bank? We take an in-depth look at what drove profitability for the institutions at the top of our annual rankings, all of which are based on three-year average returns on equity. See the list of banks and thrifts with under $2 billion in assets or the mid-tiers with $2 billion to $10 billion of assets. Stay tuned as those with $10 billion to $50 billion of assets are still to come.

Rates are low and compliance costs are rising. But banks with $2 billion or less in assets still have momentum in several key areas, based on data compiled by Capital Performance Group.

CertusBank's chief executive, who joined the Greenville, S.C., company after its founders were fired last year, has left his post due to a medical issue.

Bank of America's shareholders cast far fewer votes than a year earlier for a key director who helped combine the titles of chairman and chief executive, allowing Brian Moynihan to hold both posts while sparking anger among investors.

Investors have varied expectations of how banks should build and deploy capital. Ultimately, management teams need to stick to their growth plans rather than serve the whims of specific shareholders.

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., reported higher earnings on the backs of two acquisitions.

The Patriot Center at George Mason University is about to be renamed EagleBank Arena.

Trans Pacific National Bank in San Francisco has named ex-Chicago banker Bob Lussier its president and chief executive.

Bank of America, led by Brian Moynihan, at its annual meeting tried to look responsive to criticisms of its corporate governance, slow turnaround and other matters while announcing it would phase out lending to coal companies.

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair has been named president of Washington College, a small liberal arts school in Chestertown, Md.

Earnings at HSBC's North American operation fell 12% in the first quarter. Details about the unit's future restructuring are due next month, but executives offered reassurances Tuesday that they don't plan to divest it.

Though concerned about diluting NCUA's efforts to help small CUs survive and thrive, credit unions largely support the agency's proposal to increase asset-size definition from $50 million to $100 million, with most pushing for going all the way up to $550 million, in keeping with the FDIC's definition.

Shares of HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank, fell the most in two months in London trading after first-quarter revenue missed analysts' estimates and costs increased at a faster pace.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Altura Credit Union on Friday reported $2.34 million in net income for the first quarter — stretching its streak of consecutive quarters of positive earnings to 16.

Wells Fargo has named Kyle Hranicky chief of its corporate banking group.

A chief financial officer's workday is booked solid dealing with regulatory issues, risk assessments and finding places to cut costs. If they could find an extra hour, bank CFOs say they would use that time to consider how to improve their banks' strategies, employees and communities.

If banking is under attack, then chief financial officers are the defenders of the realm. Equipped with the numbers, they are uniquely positioned to bring the credible answers their stakeholders seek and the changes their companies need.

Our new special reports and proprietary research profile the key executives flanking the CEOs at financial institutions and explore how their roles have evolved. First up: the chief financial officer.