UniCredit SpA and Banco Santander SA reached an agreement to merge their asset-management businesses in a transaction valuing the combined entity at about 5.4 billion euros ($5.8 billion).

The growth-minded regional bank is biding its time until rates rise and its M&A deals close by slowing riskier types of lending and diversifying its income sources.

At first glance Cardinal Financial in McLean, Va., blew away earnings expectations, rising 220% in the first quarter from the same time last year.

High-profile hits and misses in the first quarter showed the difficulty of finding revenue growth in a period of low interest rates. Some big banks surprised analysts by tapping into fresh revenue streams, while others lost ground.

Small-business lender Funding Circle, which has operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, has received $150 million in new investment.

Strong organic loan growth and a recent acquisition of a small Virginia bank combined to power Eagle Bancorp to another record profit in the first quarter.

The banking company is the latest to flirt with a threshold that promises added regulatory burden. But a pause from more acquisitions should also give management a chance to brush up on deal integration before making an even larger acquisition.

The San Francisco bank has added three more young technology firms to its accelerator program, which is aimed at adapting products from outside the financial services world for creative uses in banking.

First Midwest Bank in Itasca, Ill., increased profits in the first quarter thanks to higher lending income, but fell short of heightened expectations set after two major acquisitions last year.

A division of the payments firm ACI Worldwide will pay $185,000 to California authorities to resolve allegations that it violated numerous state licensing requirements.

The middle-market lending community is watching closely General Electric's announced plan to sell GE Capital, the largest lender in the space and the winner of Mergers & Acquisitions' 2014 M&A Mid-Market Award for Lender of the Year.

South State in Columbia, S.C., has agreed to buy 13 Bank of America branches in South Carolina and Georgia.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has agreed to buy Palmetto Bancshares in Greenville, S.C.

Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville, Tenn., reported higher first-quarter profit on strong lending results.

Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pa., reported lower first-quarter profit on a decline in net interest income and higher expenses.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended April 18.

S&T Bancorp in Indiana, Pa., reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter as income from loans it inherited in its acquisition of Integrity Bancshares helped to offset higher merger-related expenses.

The Georgia company has been cutting costs, while reinvesting funds in new businesses and technology. While the moves are doing little to increase near-term return on assets, they could help Synovus improve its longer-term performance.

MB Financial's first-quarter profit rose nearly 71% from the same period last year, but lower-than-expected loan growth and expenses related to its acquisition of Taylor Capital late last year caused it to miss earnings-per-share projections.

The first quarter was another banner one for Signature Bank in New York, which reported record net income of $83.4 million, topping its 2014 first-quarter results by 26%.