Performance reports

Earnings at Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., fell significantly in the fourth quarter, largely because of costs to pay off debt.

Chargeoffs jumped 13% at the Dallas lender, and its warning that they could increase further because of deterioration in subprime auto lending set off alarm bells about the broader consumer finance market.

Prosperity Bancshares in Houston reported a 4.23% dip in fourth-quarter profit on lower levels of loan discount accretion.

The company no longer feels the need to sell loans since it has a deal in hand to confidently cross a key regulatory threshold. Still, management said it likes the revenue opportunities from occasionally selling off originations.

The combination of falling stock prices, higher-risk strategies and signs of worsening credit quality does not bode well for the industry's road ahead.

Bank executives have faced relentless questions about their energy-sector exposure during fourth-quarter earnings calls this month, as oil has bobbed above and below $30 a barrel. They are taking more drastic actions to contain losses, but it still might not be enough.

Malvern Bancorp in Paoli, Pa., on Wednesday reported a profit for its first fiscal quarter of 2016 and said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had lifted a formal written agreement with its Malvern Federal Savings Bank subsidiary dating to October 2014.

The energy sector downturn took a big bite out of quarterly earnings at Cullen/Frost Bankers in San Antonio.

Banking's top trade groups sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to intervene and stop a plan by the National Credit Union Administration to expand field of membership for federal credit unions.

Santander Consumer USA Holdings on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in profits, due to losses tied to its exit from personal lending.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group took a surprise 3.6 billion-pound ($5.2 billion) hit to the value of its assets and set aside more money for past misconduct, limiting Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan's ability to return capital to shareholders.

Banco Santander SA built up capital in the fourth quarter, easing investor concern about its ability to bolster buffers, as Spain's largest lender booked charges that wiped out profit.

State Street reported a 17% increase in fourth-quarter profit as it cut expenses, offsetting a decline in revenue.

Capital One Financial's fourth-quarter profit fell short of projections as the McLean, Va., company boosted its reserves in anticipation of higher loan losses.

Trustmark in Jackson, Miss., reported lower quarterly profit after a decline in deposit service charges and mortgage banking offset loan growth and reduced expenses.

Fintech is a chic topic at Davos, but it's barely a blip on the radar of analysts who lock in on hard numbers during earnings calls. Yet with tech taking a bigger role in financial services, mobile banking or the blockchain might soon become as topical as efficiency ratios or net interest margins.

More than half of the deals announced so far this year have involved sellers from the Midwest. Expect activity in the region to rise as more banks mimic Huntington Bancshares and Chemical Financial by becoming acquirers.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., said its fourth-quarter profit rose 20% to $33 million from a year earlier as its lending rose by nearly half and its expenses fell.

Too many institutions focus on time-wasting tasks that divert their attention from how to stay relevant in a rapidly changing banking environment.

Steve Streit, who founded the prepaid card pioneer in 1999, is taking fire from an investment firm that owns 6.2% of the company.