Alan Kline

First Republic Bank in San Francisco is planning to open as many as seven new offices on the East Coast this year and another three on West Coast as it looks to boost its market share among affluent households in the California, New York and Boston markets.

A New York investment group that is planning to buy a Long Island community banking company has agreed to pay the seller a $500,000 break-up fee if the oft-delayed deal is not completed by the end of this month.

A Texas banking company formed two years ago to acquire distressed or failed banks is buying its first healthy bank.

After suffering losses on real estate loans for three straight years, Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., has now turned a profit in two consecutive quarters.

Eagle Bancorp of Bethesda, Md., has opened its fourth office in northern Virginia and is planning to establish a fifth later this year.

Fifth Third Bancorp has established a small venture-capital fund to invest in emerging companies that typically do not qualify for bank loans.

Perhaps readying itself for further expansion, Iberiabank Corp. in Lafayette, La., has filed a shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow it to quickly raise capital for use in pursuing deals.

First Community Bancshares' $40.6 million deal for Peoples Bank of Virginia shows how deals can get done in the slow M&A market and that some can be very simple.

Community West Bancshares Inc. in Goleta, Calif., is closing its four out-of state Small Business Administration lending offices as part of a broad restructuring plan aimed at reducing risk and improving the company's overall health.

After more than 25 years as national bank, Equity Bank in Andover, Kan., is switching to a state charter.

First Community Bancshares Inc. in Bluefield, Va., is bulking up in the Richmond market with a deal to acquire the $286 million-asset Peoples Bank in Virginia for about $40.6 million in cash and stock.

Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. in Flint. Mich., would need to increase its size by roughly 25% to offset any costs associated with crossing the $10 billion-asset threshold, according to Chief Executive Cathleen Nash.

BOK Financial Corp. in Tulsa is eyeing acquisitions of banks and nonbanks as it looks to both increase market share in areas where it operates and generate more revenues from fees.

Heritage Commerce Bancorp Inc. in San Jose has received approval from its regulators and the Treasury Department to repay the $40 million it received from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Banks eager to deploy excess capital through acquisitions or loan growth continue to face two immense challenges: unrealistic price demands from sellers' and fierce competition for commercial loans.

Terri Dial, a former top executive at Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. and widely regarded as one of the industry's most influential women, died Tuesday in Miami. She was 62.

BancVue of Austin, Texas is exiting the credit card business in order to devote more attention to its primary business of helping banks and credit unions attract more customers through high-yield checking and savings products.

U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis has tapped long-time Chicago banker Marsha Cruzan as the new president of its Chicago-area operations.

Carlile Bancshares Inc. in Fort Worth announced late Monday that it is acquiring Northstar Financial Corp. in Denton, Texas, and its subsidiary, the $950 million-asset Northstar Bank.

TD Bank has agreed to pay unspecified damages to victims of a former TD client who pleaded guilty two years ago to running a massive Ponzi scheme.