Paul Davis

Aubrey Patterson keeps in touch with his successor and advises bankers to think twice before surpassing $10 billion in assets and earning more regulatory scrutiny.

The Memphis, Tenn., company has been quietly hiring business lenders in key cities in North Carolina and Virginia and would consider selective acquisitions, CEO Bryan Jordan says.

Bryan Jordan, the CEO of First Horizon, says regulation and competition are forcing banks to find ways to connect with customers who don't want face-to-face contact.

It could take another two years for Renasant to get close to its investor returns from before the crisis, and that's OK, CEO Robin McGraw says.

Ray Grace, the acting banking commissioner of North Carolina, used humor to deflect some tough questions aimed at regulators about limits on bank startups.

Bob Braswell of Carolina Bank in Greensboro, N.C., gave the mayor and city council an earful after tiring of a bitter funding dispute.

The banking industry's pace of expansion, which had shown signs of accelerating in late 2012, appears to have lost momentum.

Dan Rollins suggested that BancorpSouth undertake a sequester-style process to reduce expenses.

Ken Lehman is buying outsized stakes in community banks, using his personal funds and often introducing himself to CEOs with a direct phone call.

F.N.B. Corp. (FNB) in Hermitage, Pa., will enter Cleveland after agreeing to buy PVF Capital (PVFC) for roughly $106 million, or $3.98 a share, in stock.

First Keystone (FKYS) in Berwick, Pa., has amended its bylaws to allow its board to select a vice chairman.

Scott Bauer was the North Carolina company's CEO from its creation to its sale last fall to Capital Bank Financial.

CEO Hugh Potts says the Mississippi company's sale to Renasant will help investors recoup 75% of 2006 value.

Robin McGraw, chief executive of Renasant in Tupelo, Miss., celebrated his deal for First M&F and the University of Mississippi football team's recruiting coup.

Renasant's willingness to pay a premium for First M&F, a small bank in the Deep South, indicates just how hungry banks are to put capital to use.

Favorable views of market conditions gained momentum at the end of the year as lawmakers reached a compromise to stave off the fiscal cliff.

Kind words by Stewart McClure, the head of Somerset Hills Bancorp, for Kevin Cummings, the CEO of rival Investors Bancorp, are part of a mutual admiration society budding in New Jersey banking.

TowneBank in Suffolk, Va., has acquired The Clement Companies, an insurance agency in Greenville, N.C.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) has agreed to buy a credit card portfolio from Quad City Bank & Trust.

Yadkin Valley Financial in Elkin, N.C., sold a reinsurance business during the fourth quarter.