Kristin Broughton

Pinnacle Bancorp in Central City, Neb., has agreed to buy Home State Bank in Louisville, Neb.

Earnings at Northwest Bancshares in Warren, Pa., dropped slightly compared with last year, as a reduced return from the bank's loan portfolio squeezed profits.

First Financial Bankshares in Abilene, Texas reported higher third-quarter profits than a year earlier, driven by strong performance from its loan portfolio.

First Niagara Financial in Buffalo, N.Y., plans to close 17 branches and two drive-through locations in January.

Profits at Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., rose in the third quarter, on gains from its recent acquisition of Sterling Financial.

Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., will recognize a one-time gain of $16.6 million in third quarter profits, due to the partial reversal of its valuation allowance for deferred tax assets.

AmericanWest Bank in Spokane, Wash., has agreed to buy the $468 million-asset Bank of Sacramento in California for $60 million in cash.

Diebold has released a new series of ATMs that include security protections.

Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., reported stable third-quarter earnings as margin compression offset loan growth.

MetaBank in Souix Falls, S.D., has agreed to buy the operations of AFS/IBEX Financial Services, an insurance premium finance company in Dallas.

Diebold has released a new series of ATMs that include security protections.

OpenTable has released its mobile payment offering in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Sunshine Bancorp in Plant City, Fla., has hired a former executive at Susquehanna Bancshares in Lititz, Pa., as its chief executive.

Thursday night's celebration of American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking turned into a call for action for companies to build a pipeline of female leaders. "If we stick to the current rate of turnover, it's going to take 75 years to reach parity," said outgoing HSBC USA chief Irene Dorner.

The head of Key's charitable foundation is lauded at American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking Gala for her role in improving educational opportunities for low-income and minority students in Cleveland.

PagBrasil, a payment processor in Brazil, has launched a product that provides accelerated confirmation for online payments made using boleto bancario, the electronic payment method in Brazil.

Veritex Holdings in Dallas could sell up to $40.4 million of its common stock as part of its initial public offering.

Banks have ceded market share to business-development companies, hedge funds and others when it comes to loans to midsize companies. Unless banks strengthen cross-selling techniques and embrace technology soon, then competition, Basel III and other forces will eat into their profits.

Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., has hired former KeyCorp executive Hugh Donlon to be its chief lending officer.

Cardtronics, a Houston-based ATM, has completed its acquisition of Welch ATM, a Peoria, Ill.-based provider of retail ATM services.