Alan Kline

As part of its ongoing effort to shed non-core assets, Citigroup Inc. is selling off its remaining stake in life insurer Primerica Inc.

Activist investor John W. Palmer appears to have won his bid for a seat on the board of the $1.2 billion-asset HF Financial Corp.

U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis has added two high-profile business leaders to its board of directors.

On the verge of retirement, CEO Gary Base strikes his first-ever deal - and finds his replacement.

The Baltimore law firm Ober Kaler has added longtime banking attorney Andrew F. Campbell to its financial institutions practice.

After reporting a profit of $2.6 million in the third quarter, Pacific Continental Corp. in Eugene, Ore., is projecting a loss in the fourth quarter as result of expected writedowns on certain real estate loans.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods is advising investors to steer clear of most big banks' stocks in 2012 and invest instead in life insurers, credit card companies and smaller-cap regional banks.

Looking to bulk up in affluent Orange County, California United Bank in Encino announced Friday that it is buying the $450 million-asset Premier Commercial Bancorp in Anaheim for $38.1 million in stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston has struck its second deal in three months, announcing Friday that it is buying East Texas Financial Services Inc. in Tyler in all-stock deal.

After several years on the sidelines, the Cincinnati regional looks to acquisitions to "deepen density."

BofI Holding

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. Buffalo announced a series of moves after the stock market closed Tuesday aimed at raising the capital it needs to complete its acquisition of 195 upstate New York branches from rival HSBC Bank USA.

Shares of SunTrust Banks Inc. fell more than 6% Tuesday after the company's chief executive said that he expects costs associated with repurchasing soured mortgage loans to increase in the fourth quarter.

Continuing its expansion in entertainment hotbeds outside of Southern California, City National Bank in Los Angeles has opened its first banking office in Atlanta.

A second independent advisory firm has weighed in on pending board elections at HF Financial Corp. and this one is urging shareholders to cast their ballots for candidates supported by management.

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to pay $315 million to settle claims that its Merrill Lynch unit made false and misleading statements about the quality of mortgage-backed securities it sold to investors.

The Arkansas Bankers Association announced Friday that President and Chief Executive Kenneth D. Hammonds will retire at the end of this year and will be replaced by the trade group's chief operating officer, William R. Holmes.

A dissident shareholder's bid to win a seat on the board of HF Financial Corp. received a boost Friday after an independent advisory firm endorsed his candidacy.

Bank of America Corp.'s head of online banking is defecting to rival JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Freed from an enforcement order that had restricted its growth, Royal Bancshares Inc. in Narberth, Pa., has brought in a seasoned veteran to lead its expansion in small-business lending.