Credit quality

Provident Financial said it increased its allowance against a commercial loan after discovering that the borrower overstated the value of its collateral.

Virginia National will set aside up to $950,000 to cover losses after ReliaMax, a firm that issues surety bonds for student loans, was placed into liquidation.

The advisory vote came two weeks after Preferred Bank in Los Angeles disclosed a major loan default.

There are so many reasons — the credit cycle, the plight of small banks or competition from Amazon and foreign banks — that the head of JPMorgan could live to regret that statement.

Dark clouds may not yet be on the horizon, but industry executives are sending the message to investors that they know a turn in the credit cycle is coming, and they are planning accordingly.

Fulton Financial, Univest Corp. of Pennsylvania and Franklin Financial Services disclosed a total of $75 million in exposure to the commercial relationship.

Amid their recent policy victories and record earnings, big banks have also been forced to grapple with the possibility that commercial lending — the lifeblood for large regionals — may never fully come back.

A chunk of alternative loan customers are perfectly creditworthy, a report from the credit bureau shows.

The company has also hit its goal of having half of total loans tied to customers around Atlanta.

The post-recession boom in auto loans and credit cards for borrowers with marred credit histories has been winding down in recent months.

Preferred Bank's experience with an apartment developer is a reminder of how important strict underwriting terms will be as loan demand increases, rates rise and lenders try to outdo each other.

Costs rose at the global bank, profit in North America fell 16% and questions are mounting for new CEO John Flint ahead of the release of his strategic plan.

Porter Bancorp in Kentucky spent years tackling credit and capital issues. As Limestone Bank, it will finally get back on offense.

CIT took a $22 million hit on a business loan, and overall loan growth was tepid.

The Utah company reduced the size of its loan-loss allowance, citing improvement in its energy book at minimal losses from Hurricane Harvey.

First Personal Bank in Illinois tried — and failed — to sell itself three times. The bank finally found an eager buyer after tackling several lingering problems.

The Los Angeles bank also benefited from a reduced reliance on costlier certificates of deposit.

A $135 million increase in litigation expenses related to its 2011 acquisition of Wilmington Trust overshadowed a wider net interest margin and improved credit quality for the Buffalo, N.Y., company in the first quarter.

Bank’s earnings report notes possible $1 billion in fines; loan-loss accounting rule will be rolled out over three years.

The bank revealed Friday that it is facing hefty regulatory penalties and will likely have to restate first-quarter earnings. Declines in loan balances and fee income and questions about upcoming stress tests are only adding to investors' worries.