Performance reports

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City posted a big increase in quarterly earnings despite increasing its loan-loss provision to account for energy-related exposure.

The $13.8 billion-asset company said Monday after the market closed that it earned $21.2 million, down roughly 26% from a year earlier.

Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 3.98% to $42.8 million from a year earlier as loan growth offset lower fee income.

Ag lenders enjoyed solid credit metrics and an increase in farms loans in 2015. Those results could come under pressure this year, requiring bankers to become more vigilant in talking to their agricultural clients.

It is too early in the Providence, R.I., bank's turnaround plan to buy another bank, CEO Bruce Van Saun says. Instead, he would rather invest in acquiring commercial, mortgage and other loan officers who can feed revenue while he tries to make the bank more efficient.

Profits at SVB Financial Group in Santa Clara, Calif., soared in the fourth quarter on strong loan growth.

The card issuer, buoyed by employment gains and its partnership with the megaretailer Amazon, is bullish on its growth prospects for 2016.

The American Bankers Association has gone public with its issues with a plan to require banks to record loan-loss provisions when they originate a loan. Bankers are worried that the rule will eventually force smaller institutions to use costly modeling programs to comply.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., reported fourth-quarter earnings of $42.8 million, a 12.2% drop from a year earlier as the company set aside a significantly higher amount of money to address potential problems in its energy portfolio.

Western Alliance Bancorp. in Phoenix reported higher fourth-quarter profit on higher commercial and construction lending and improved fee income.

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta reported higher quarterly profit because of lower expenses and growth in most loan categories.

A service that used to be a no-brainer for banks is now hampered by limited revenue and a hard-to-justify cost structure.

People's United Financial in Bridgeport, Conn., rode the sale of its payroll services business to a higher profit in the fourth quarter.

The collapse in oil prices hammered fourth-quarter profits at Hancock Holding as the Gulfport, Miss., sharply boosted its loan-loss provision address weakness in its energy loan book.

BankUnited in Miami Lakes, Fla., reported a double-digit percentage increase in fourth-quarter profit, citing growth in loans and fee income.

At least five regional banks on Thursday discarded concerns about the global economy, stocks, interest rates and credit quality, forecasting loan growth for the rest of this year.

Fourth-quarter earnings reports probably couldn't have been scheduled for a worse time. Banks reported results (and sometimes good ones) right as the markets and the price of oil tanked. The cold reception from investors and analysts is a reminder of how sometimes the analysis of a banks' numbers has little to do with the past quarter, and more to do what's going on right now.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, reported higher fourth-quarter earnings, citing increases in commercial and auto lending and fees from deposit accounts and payment processing.

KeyCorp reported lower quarterly results that reflected higher expenses and lower fee income.

Bank of New York Mellon, under pressure from activist investors to boost its share price, reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates as higher rates lifted revenue and non-interest expenses fell.