Paul Davis

Bryn Mawr Bank in Pennsylvania has agreed to buy Powers Craft Parker & Beard, an insurance broker and risk management consulting firm.

City National in Los Angeles has formed an Asian subsidiary to provide research for its emerging markets fund.

HomeTrust Bank faced a legal challenge from HomeTown Bank after it entered southwestern Virginia. The now-resolved dispute serves as a reminder that banks must be aware of branding challenges when they enter new markets.

Banner Corp. in Walla Walla, Wash., has agreed to buy Siuslaw Financial Group in Florence, Ore.

Northrim BanCorp in Anchorage, Alaska, has agreed to buy Residential Mortgage Holding Co.

The $5.6 billion-asset Talmer Bancorp said in a press release Wednesday that it will pay $13.4 million in cash for First of Huron, the parent of Signature Bank.

Peoples Bancorp in Marietta, Ohio, has agreed to buy NB&T Financial Group in Wilmington, Ohio.

Business First Bancshares in Baton Rouge, La., has agreed to buy American Gateway Financial in Baton Rouge.

Columbia Banking System in Tacoma, Wash., has agreed to buy Intermountain Community Bancorp in Sandpoint, Idaho. The $7.2 billion-asset Columbia will pay $121.5 million, or $18.22 a share, in cash and stock for the $911 million-asset Intermountain.

Codorus Valley Bancorp in York, Pa., has agreed to buy Madison Bancorp in Baltimore.

ASB Bancorp in Asheville, N.C., has repurchased a block of stock from funds tied to activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

Colony Financial in Santa Monica, Calif., plans to raise up to $382 million by selling common stock.

First Merchants in Muncie, Ind., has agreed to buy Community Bancshares in Noblesville, Ind.

Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., has agreed to sell certain nonperforming loans to Credit Suisse at a nearly $9 million loss.

BancorpSouth has delayed the closing of two bank acquisitions after regulators took issue with the Tupelo, Miss., company's compliance programs.

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City reported a spike in quarterly earnings after posting a larger credit to its loan-loss provision and reducing noninterest expenses.

Most big banks have reported lower revenue for the second quarter, the downside of trying to beef up loans in a hotly competitive, low-rate lending market. Earnings reports at BB&T and SunTrust shed light on the problems of yield and margin that lie below the surface throughout the industry and threaten growth prospects.

BB&T (BBT) in Winston-Salem, N.C., reported a decline in quarterly earnings because of lower mortgage activity and a narrower net interest margin.

Regulators on Friday closed Eastside Commercial Bank in Conyers, Ga., the 13th institution to fail this year.

Mackinac Financial (MFNC) in Manistique, Mich., has agreed to buy Peninsula Financial in Ishpeming, Mich.