Alan Kline

Morgan Stanley senior economist Vincent Reinhart is predicting that the rebounding economy will sputter again in the first of this year and that the Federal Reserve will need to jump start it with another round of "quantitative easing."

To succeed this year, banks must balance the near-term need to make loans and the long-term reality that an exodus of low-cost deposits is looming.

Under orders from its regulator to improve its capital ratios, Community First Bank & Trust in Columbia, Tenn., is selling one of its 10 branches to Southern Community Bank in Tullahoma, Tenn., and could be looking to unload several more.

Fifth Third Bancorp told investors Thursday that its fourth-quarter income would be roughly $68 million lower than anticipated, before taxes, due to costs related to its sale of Visa Inc. class B shares in 2009.

John Delaney, the executive chairman of CapitalSource in Bethesda, Md., is taking a leave of absence from the commercial finance company he founded to run for a seat in Congress.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has ordered seven ailing community banks to raise fresh capital and directed three others with elevated loan losses to submit written plans for raising capital should credit quality weaken further.

With stricter capital requirements threatening to crimp profits, France's three largest banks are trimming overhead by laying off hundreds of workers in the U.S.

If Yaron Brook, the president of the Ayn Rand Institute, had his way, the next U.S. president would be former BB&T Corp. Chief Executive John Allison.

The first trading day of the new year was a good one for bank stocks. Amid reports from several analysts predicting that beleaguered bank stocks are poised for a rebound in 2012, shares of many large-cap and regional banks were up sharply Tuesday.

University Bancorp Inc. in Ann Arbor, Mich., has named former Michigan state senator and one-time candidate for governor Alma Wheeler Smith as its new chairperson, replacing Charles McDowell, who died last week.

Looking to move forward after recent accounting issues forced it to restate its 2010 earnings, Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., has hired Howard C. Bluver as its chief executive, succeeding J. Gordon Huszagh.

The past year was a mixed bag for bankers. Some found success in picking up market share, or in finally putting federal bailouts into rear view. Others encountered fresh challenges, from run-ins with regulators to the realities of a still-fragile economic recovery. With the new year sure to bring its own mix of achievements, redemption stories and trouble spots, the editors of American Banker offer 10 bank CEOs worth watching in 2012.

The former chief executive of Butler Bank in Lowell, Mass., has been banned from the banking business and fined $225,000 in connection with the thrift's failure last year.

Umpqua Bank in Portland, Ore., has become the latest bank to be sued for allegedly manipulating the way in which it processed debit card transactions in order to rake in more overdraft fees.

Ahead of the planned sale of its credit card arm to Capital One Financial Corp., HSBC North America has renewed its private-label credit card agreements with Saks Inc. and three other retailers.

Private Bank of Buckhead in Atlanta is looking to open its second branch in suburban Decatur.

NexBank Capital Inc. in Dallas has raised roughly $20 million in fresh capital this year after recently completing a stock sale to group of investors.

Security Federal Corp. in Aiken, S.C.. has reorganized as a bank holding company and its subsidiary, Security Federal Bank, has converted from a federally chartered thrift to a state-regulated commercial bank.

Hawaii is by far the priciest state for houses in the U.S., while Mississippi is the least expensive state in which to buy a home.

Continuing to bulk up in Texas through bite-sized deals, Independent Bank Group Inc. in McKinney said this week that it is buying the $155 million-asset I Bank Texas in Austin.