Alan Kline

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.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. in Providence, R.I., posted strong earnings growth in the fourth quarter, but not nearly strong enough to offset losses at its parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland.

Weak demand for advances among member banks suppressed profits at several of the nation's Federal Home Loan Banks during the fourth quarter.

The parent company of United Legacy Bank in Winter Park, Fla., is buying a large stake in a rival bank in what appears to be the first step toward building a multi-bank holding company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is planning to open between 25 and 30 branches in Northern California this year as part of its ongoing quest to add market share in the nation's largest state.

CoBank, the largest lender in the government-backed Farm Credit System, reported record profits in 2011 as higher prices for key commodities such as corn, wheat and soy led to increased loan demand from large cooperatives and agribusinesses.

In what would be its latest asset purchase from a European bank, Wells Fargo & Co. announced after markets closed Tuesday that it is acquiring BNP Paribas' North American energy-lending business in all-cash deal.

Britton & Koontz Bank in Natchez, Miss., has been ordered by its regulator to immediately take steps to reduce the level of risk in its loan portfolio.

Starbucks Coffee Co. has raised more than $2 million in small-dollar donations from its customers since Nov. 1 in support of its effort to stimulate job growth in low- and moderate-income communities.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. in Huntington, W.Va., is planning to consolidate three of its four subsidiary banks as part of its ongoing effort to build scale, lower its compliance costs and improve its overall efficiency.

Fannie Mae is considering Timothy Mayopoulos, the head of a banking industry trade group and its own general counsel, as possible replacements for departing Chief Executive Michael Williams, according to The Wall Street Journal.