Northern Trust’s fourth-quarter profit surged due to higher trust fees, improved credit quality and the benefit accrued to its profit margin from an increase in short-term interest rates.

Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., reported higher quarterly results that reflected great credit quality.

The Minneapolis company reported gains in lending and fee income, but merit-pay increases and compliance-related spending contributed to higher noninterest expenses.

Citigroup reported fourth-quarter profit that surpassed analysts’ estimates as trading revenue jumped 31%, more than the bank had forecast last month.

Three midsize banks projected increases in loans this year in the latest round of earnings discussions, but their levels of optimism varied, and their commercial lending strategies in some cases conflicted.

Higher lending for mortgages, construction and commercial real estate boosted Fulton Financial's profit.

The Michigan company expects a recently announced mortgage initiative to produce solid growth in 2017.

Asset quality remained solid as the Little Rock company improved loan-to-deposit, efficiency ratios last quarter following two major bank acquisitions.

Improved credit quality also helped compensate for flat loan growth at the Dallas bank.

The Columbus, Ga., bank reported higher fourth-quarter profit on growth in business loans and mortgage banking.

The San Francisco bank said Friday that it plans to close at least 400 branches over the next two years, part of an effort to reduce annual expenses by $2 billion.

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and PNC reported lackluster revenue growth as higher trading fees and increases in commercial lending barely compensated for consumer-side challenges.

The San Francisco private bank reported double-digit gains in originations and noninterest income that led to a nearly 30% increase in profits last quarter.

Fourth-quarter profit dropped 5.4% as revenue from its mortgage business declined, Wells Fargo said Friday.

The Seattle company warned that fourth-quarter profit could fall more than 80% from a year earlier.

Big banks report; Why Goldman is different

JPMorgan Chase said profit rose 24% as bond-trading revenue climbed more than analysts estimated and expenses fell.

PNC’s fourth-quarter profit improved on higher lending to corporate customers for real estate and other loans.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. lender by assets, said fourth-quarter profit rose 43% as revenue from fixed-income trading increased and expenses dropped.

Visa closed its acquisition of Visa Europe in late June, ending a year of negotiations and years of speculation in the payments industry.