Paul Davis

Spirit Community Bank is the 15th bank to get the agency's approval this year. That list also includes Community Bank of the Carolinas, which was approved in early December.

James McLemore, one of our community bankers to watch in 2019, has more energy loans to purge and must exit the Small Business Lending fund and a BSA-related enforcement action.

It was a year to remember for women executives at SunTrust and Amex’s new CEO, and one to forget for Wells Fargo and investors in bank stocks.

While these five bankers made headlines this year, not all of them did so for good reasons.

A big splash by Fifth Third, a bid by WSFS to reinvent itself and some bold long-distance expansions highlighted a year where deal activity held steady but premiums rose.

CBTX said an unauthorized person obtained personal information for about 7,800 customers.

Selling $1.6 billion in mortgages, and paying off a similar amount of wholesale borrowings, will allow the company to expand its net interest margin in 2019.

Stock Yards will remove a competitor in Louisville, Ky., and enter two markets outside of the city.

The sale should increase Shore's capital levels and allow it to expand its banking activities.

Colony will also gain a loan production office in Atlanta when the transaction closes.

Ameris has agreed to pay $751 million for Atlanta-based Fidelity; the combined company would have $16 billion in assets.

Chicago Deferred Exchange, which helps clients defer tax hits from property sales, had about $1 billion in deposit flows this year.

Virginia Partners will operate as a separate bank unit after the deal closes.

When Trinity Capital in New Mexico put itself up for sale last summer, it reached out to several local banks to gauge their interest. Then came a surprise offer from a suitor based a thousand miles away.

Millyard Bank aims to become the state's second post-crisis de novo. Primary Bank opened in 2015.

The $180 million acquisition is the first for Berkshire since the sudden departure of CEO Michael Daly.

Associated will gain low-cost deposits and branches in 13 new markets after the deal closes.

Uniti Financial focuses on the Korean-American community through three offices around Los Angeles.

The regional bank is working with customers to help develop and launch new products, including a small-business credit card.

The New Jersey company terminated an acquisition after being hit with the order in 2016.