Performance reports

Comerica may sell itself one day, but it won't be a very attractive takeover target — or fetch top dollar — until energy prices rebound and interest rates rise, company officials said at the annual meeting Tuesday.

Banner Corp. in Walla Walla, Wash., reported higher quarterly profit that reflected its purchase of AmericanWest Bank.

Ally Financial reported strong loan and deposit growth in the first quarter, but a shift in the makeup of its automobile loan portfolio forced the Detroit company to nearly double its loan-loss provision from a year earlier.

Paragon Commercial Bank, Unity Bancorp and Nicolet Bankshares have found success by radically rethinking their strategies.

Profitability is under a lot of pressure for small institutions. But some are handling that pressure better than others, as our annual ranking of publicly traded banks and thrifts with less than $2 billion of assets shows.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., reported a profit of $17.1 million in the first quarter, up 56% from a year earlier, as strong loan growth more than offset higher expenses and an uptick in problem loans. Its earnings per share climbed 50%, to 51 cents.

Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu said Monday that its first-quarter profit increased 18.3%, to $50.2 million, from a year earlier thanks to strong loan growth, improved credit quality and a hefty gain on sales of its Visa shares.

Lance Osborne is vying for two board seats at First Niles Financial in Ohio, but he isn’t pushing the thrift to sell itself. Rather, he wants management to pull money out of securities to make more loans.

A decline in expenses and a modest rise in lending income boosted first-quarter profit at Popular in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Bankers blamed regulators' new methodologies for rating certain energy loans – and a new two-stage shared national credit review process – for an increase in downgrades and loan-loss provisions. Regulators reportedly are reacting to an increase in second liens tied to exploration and production companies.

Delaware Bancshares in New York thought it was set to grow and diversify after buying six Bank of America branches. Instead, the deal led to the company selling itself.

Synchrony Financial reported solid earnings growth in the first quarter thanks to increased use of its credit cards, but the firm's credit performance was slightly weaker.

F.N.B.'s acquisition of Metro Bancorp bulked up the Pittsburgh company's loan book, but M&A costs ate into its first-quarter profit.

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta increased reserves for downgraded energy loans in the first quarter, but it was still able to produce solid revenue and earnings growth.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., reported first-quarter net income of $40 million Thursday, an 11% drop from the same period in 2015. In doing so the $28 billion-asset company joined the lengthening list of banks whose bottom lines fell victim to ongoing tumult in the energy market.

Western Alliance Bancorp. in Phoenix reported higher first-quarter profit as its remains a busy dealmaker.

Some are looking at buying banks or counting on recently announced acquisitions to diversify revenue streams. Others are investing in fee-based businesses and new technologies and all, of course, are trying to keep a lid on expenses.

The Paris Agreement on limiting the rise in global temperatures opens up new lending opportunities related to low-carbon projects while highlighting an array of new risks for financial institutions.

The Fed's December interest rate hike helped PrivateBancorp's first-quarter profit, as yields rose on its variable-rate loans.

People's United Financial in Bridgeport, Conn., reported higher first-quarter profits as it increased lending for both commercial and residential real estate.