Alan Kline

International Bancshares Corp. in Laredo, Texas, announced Thursday that it is closing 55 grocery store branches in response to legislation that will cap what banks can charge merchants for debit card transactions.

In what would be its first deal since creating a fund to invest in undervalued banks last year, bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co. is seeking regulatory approval to buy a roughly 20% stake in ECB Bancorp Inc. in Englehard, N.C.

Continuing a wave of consolidation among California community banks, AltaPacific Bancorp in Santa Rosa said late Wednesday that it is buying Stellar Business Bank in Covina for $17.4 million in stock.

S&T Bancorp in Indiana, Pa., announced late Wednesday that it is buying Mainline Bancorp Inc. in Ebensburg, Pa., for roughly $21.5 million in cash and stock.

Capital One Financial Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Fairbank says he believes the credit card business is headed for significant consolidation and that his company intends to be one of the industry's "endgame players."

Massive consolidation is inevitable, say the pundits, but the heads of prospective buyers say they can wait out reluctant sellers and the uncertain economy.

In what would be its first whole-bank acquisition since 2008, Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston has announced plans to buy the $72 million-asset Texas Bankers Inc. in Austin.

Webster Financial Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James C. Smith has no regrets about eliminating free checking for customers.

The chief executive at Texas Capital Bancshares Inc. says that regional banks like his are losing potential commercial loan business to deposit-rich larger banks that are undercutting them on rates and offering more favorable terms.

After making five acquisitions in less than three years, People's United Financial Inc. in Bridgeport, Conn., is now turning its attention to slashing overhead and growing its balance sheet more organically.

The largest shareholder at HF Financial Corp. has nominated its own slate of directors to challenge the candidates being backed by the management of the Sioux Falls, S.D., thrift company.

The best-performing community banks and thrifts in the country are concentrated in the Northeast, according to a new report from Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP.

First Merchants Corp. in Muncie, Ind., announced Friday that is planning to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program using a combination of proceeds from a recent stock offering and a low-interest loan from the Treasury Department's Small Business Lending Fund.

Equity Bank in Andover, Kan., is bulking up in its home state with deals to acquire a small bank in Lawrence and four branches in Topeka from a Missouri bank that is exiting the market.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced a written agreement with Stonebridge Financial Corp. in West Chester, Pa.

In an effort build scale and improve efficiency, Haverhill Bank in Massachusetts has struck a deal to merge with Economy Co-operative Bank in Merrimac.

Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., has named longtime California banking executive Simone Lagomarsino as its new president and chief executive officer and as CEO of its subsidiary, Heritage Oaks Bank.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., plans to raise more than $200 million in fresh capital and will use the proceeds to repay the balance of its debt to the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Community Pride Bank Corp. in Ham Lake, Minn., is under orders from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to use all of its "financial and managerial" resources to ensure that its bank subsidiary remains safe and sound.

Evercore Wealth Management in New York has recruited a team of portfolio and asset managers from a division of Wells Fargo Bank to staff its new Midwest regional headquarters in Minneapolis.