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HomeTrust Bancshares created a special call center and encouraged tellers to invite ATM customers inside the branches to answer questions and to differentiate the company from Bank of America in terms of fees.

There was plenty for banks to be encouraged about in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s most recent Quarterly Banking Profile, which reported comprehensive industry earnings for the fourth quarter and all of 2014. Community bank lending is showing steady growth, capital levels keep rising and the FDIC's insurance reserves are stabilizing. But the numbers also contained worrisome signs. Here are key takeaways from the report.

The California company has poached lenders from larger rivals, while expanding into specialty finance lines. Those moves have positioned Opus for a growth spurt that should outpace organic growth at most other community banks.

Cambridge Bancorp in Massachusetts will soon have a new president and chief executive.

Vincent Hui, senior director with Cornerstone Advisors Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz., said he expects interest rates will go up "a little bit" in 2015, but nowhere near the sharp rise some forecasters predicted near the end of 2014.

The Texas banker, who chaired the ICBA during the financial crisis, feels much better about the regulatory environment for smaller banks. She just wishes that interest rates would finally rise.

The lobbying group's agenda typically includes a general session featuring top regulators. But with the ICBA's Washington Policy Summit two months away, the group opted to steer the focus of its annual convention toward education.

Banco Santander named a new chief executive for its unit that serves as the holding company for its U.S. retail bank, Santander Bank, and its subprime auto lender, Santander Consumer USA Holdings.

Jack Hartings is a vocal proponent of reduced regulation for small banks. But the CEO of Peoples Bank in Ohio wants Washington to force other industries to share the burden of improving cybersecurity and cleaning up after breaches.

BancorpSouth in Tupelo, Miss., is planning to add a former Bank of America executive to its board.

Pamela Joseph, U.S. Bancorp's vice chair of payment services and a 10-year veteran of the Minneapolis-based bank, plans to retire in mid-2015.

Pamela Joseph, U.S. Bancorp's vice chair of payment services and a ten-year veteran of the Minneapolis-based bank, plans to retire in mid-2015.

Bankwell Financial Group in New Canaan, Conn., didn't have to look far to find a permanent leader.

Bank of America said former Chairman Charles O. Holliday is leaving the board of directors along with Clayton S. Rose.

WASHINGTON — A new report finds that credit union lending hit record levels last year thanks to more consumers taking advantage of low loan rates at credit unions and continued improvements in the economy.

Deutsche Bank's U.S. division has hired JPMorgan Chase executive Jeff Urwin to head its corporate finance activities and co-head its corporate banking and securities business.

A senior regulatory official on Wednesday continued the alarm bell over the brisk growth in auto lending, suggesting that some lending terms could be setting up banks for trouble.

JPMorgan Chase executives used an annual investor gathering to hammer home their arguments why the company's sum is more valuable than its parts and to promise investors that they will keep slicing costs.

Lending Club lost $9 million in the fourth quarter, hurt by expenses tied to its highly publicized initial public offering and by other costs.

First Niagara Financial Group in Buffalo, N.Y., overstated its allowance for loan and lease losses from the middle of 2013 through the end of 2014 and may restate earnings for the period.