Financial institutions

On Dec. 31, 2017. Dollars in thousands.

After nearly two years of sputtering commercial loan growth, regional bankers are counting heavily on expanding their portfolios of personal loans and other types of consumer credit.

SunTrust let about eight weeks pass before telling the public that data tied to 1.5 million customers had been stolen.

The Louisiana company has vowed to meaningfully improve investor returns and efficiency over the next two years.

The regional bank's net income rose 37% thanks to those factors and others.

Readers react to the Senate overriding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's auto lending guidance, weigh in on House efforts to reform the Dodd-Frank Act and debate technology being used to replace new branches.

The Waterbury, Conn., company also posted a double-digit gain in net interest income thanks to a 7% increase in commercial loan balances and a widening net interest margin.

The North Carolina company's efforts to contain expenses made up for a marginal increase in revenue.

The custody bank benefited from a wide range of economic forces in the first quarter.

The company will merge with Kentucky Federal Savings and Loan by the end of this year.

Comments by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles appeared to contrast with past statements by former officials about the controversial charter.

Results were also aided by strong growth in residential construction, commercial and equipment financing.

Organizers of Studio Bank in Nashville have raised more than $40 million, satisfying the minimum amount set by regulators.

Organizers of CommerceOne Bank in Birmingham must raise at least $30 million before opening.

The rules to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act have become "formulaic and ossified" and must be changed to encourage lending practices the law originally intended to foster, the Fed's top regulator said.

A Virginia bank's decision to pursue a charter in North Carolina puzzles some observers, given the added complexity and costs.

The Chicago custody bank also benefited from a recent acquisition of a UBS business in Europe and the lower federal income tax rate.

Joe Petitti and Jack Knight formerly held leadership posts at First Republic.

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.

Bankers hoped the tax overhaul would stimulate a boom in business borrowing, but several said this week that hasn’t happened yet. PNC’s Bill Demchak warned that the tax cuts could be encouraging lenders to underprice loans.