Performance reports

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles reported higher quarterly profit led by its acquisition of Square 1 Financial in Durham, N.C.

Profits soared at First Republic Bank in San Francisco thanks to lending growth in several categories and its expansion in wealth management.

Wells Fargo, Wall Street's top oil and gas banker, said first-quarter profit fell 5.9 percent as the firm set aside more money for soured energy loans and expenses increased.

Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, said profit declined 13% on a drop in trading and underwriting revenue and a 30% increase in provisions for credit losses, mostly tied to souring energy loans.

Weakness in the energy sector is weighing on PNC Financial Services Group's profits. The Pittsburgh company said early Thursday that it earned $943 million in the first quarter, a nearly 6% decline from the same period last year.

First-quarter profit improved at Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., as commercial-and-industrial loans increased.

The world knows JPMorgan's quarterly profits fell and that it flunked the living wills test. But underneath all that were solid first-quarter results in its core lending businesses that bode well for other banks at the start of earnings season.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, said first-quarter profit fell 6.7 percent on lower trading and investment-banking revenue and $479 million in wholesale credit costs.

Profits soared at Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., thanks primarily to its expanding loan portfolio.

Long-term worries, short-term worries, the broader economy and more. Community bankers see lots of obstacles to earnings growth this year, according to a recent survey of 250 small-bank executives conducted by Vining Sparks.

The banking industry, in the face of prolonged challenges, is relying on professional help to improve in areas such as productivity, hiring and M&A. The hope is that being introspective now will limit the amount of costly mistakes in the future.

Citigroup is planning to cut staff in London as it seeks to trim costs to compensate for lower trading revenue, according to people familiar with the matter.

Royal Bank of Canada, which had $1 billion in earnings from its U.S. businesses last year, expects to double that amount in five to seven years, Chief Executive Officer David McKay said.

In a more competitive-than-ever industry, sales activity is an important part of bankers' jobs, but it is not the only part.

Several banks have recently purchased highly visible properties in strategically important markets, investing in real estate at a time when the industry is closing branches at a record pace. Low rates may be a factor, but many bankers are also trying to send a message to clients and prospects.

What makes a true leader is particularly relevant to the banking industry, in which the leading institutions and key individuals are not always defined by asset size.

The Dallas-based subprime consumer lender backed off controversial changes to its method for calculating its quarterly provisions for loan losses, forcing it to revise earnings downward for the last two years. It also announced that it had found more accounting issues.

AmeriServ Financial in Johnstown, Pa., will record a first-quarter loss because an unnamed energy-sector client plans to liquidate under bankruptcy protection.

Bank of America appears to be retaining more deposits from recent branch sales, using technological advancements to keep customers despite the lack of a physical location.

Word that Hancock Holding in Mississippi would more than double its loan-loss allowance has triggered broader questions about how the oil slump could spread beyond the energy portfolios of a whole class of banks.