Economy

An improving picture in the energy sector helped Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., report a huge jump in fourth-quarter profit.

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.

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

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

TNB Corp., which plans to offer deposits to institutional investors, would not have branches or retail deposits.

Wells Fargo faces an economic environment that may not be particularly suited for the way the bank is structured. Also: are you brave enough to make bitcoin a part of your retirement portfolio?

As president of the secondary marketing agency, Tozer has helped the mortgage market to continue functioning and keep up with changes following the financial crisis.

While the rising interest rate environment has gotten a lot of attention, plenty of other factors will play a role in CUs’ financial fortunes in the year ahead, including a potential Dodd-Frank rollback, rising delinquencies and more.

Banks have traditionally used consumer products to serve small businesses. The growth of alternative payment options means banks may lose customers, particularly among young business owners.

Banks have started reconsidering how much they are willing to pay for low-income housing tax credits.