Paul Davis

Regulation and low interest rates are challenging all banks, but a panel of CEOs at the American Bankers Association's annual convention shared tips on how they believe smaller institutions can succeed.

While Comptroller Tom Curry made it clear that regulators will not back down from a push for higher capital levels, he suggested the agencies are considering other ways to reduce the burden of the Basel III proposal for community banks.

Signature, a New York bank led by frugal CEO Joseph DePaolo, is laser-focused on commercial clients and niche lines in an age when others are trying to be all things to all people.

NBT Bancorp (NBTB) will acquire Alliance Financial (ALNC) in a deal valued at $233 million.

Matt Williams, incoming chairman of the American Bankers Association, says banks can rebound by drawing on lessons from past crises, updating business models and hiring a new generation of bankers.

"The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure," delivers on expectations that former BB&T chief John Allison would continue to put heavy blame on politicians for the panic of 2008 and the lingering economic malaise.

Landmark Credit Union joins a growing list of tax-exempt institutions finalizing deals to buy banks or thrifts.

Kevin Kabat has been named vice chairman at Fifth Third. The Cincinnati company also said that Greg Carmichael, its chief operating officer, would become its president. There are no plans for Kabat, who has been Fifth Third's CEO since 2007, to leave.

Suffolk Bancorp is looking to grow after a large purge of nonperforming assets under CEO Howard Bluver.

Wintrust Financial (WTFC) has agreed to buy HPK Financial, the parent of Hyde Park Bank and Trust.

Cadence Bancorp has entered San Antonio after hiring a group of lenders from International Bancshares.

The Federal Reserve Board has entered into separate written agreements with Doral Financial (DRL) and State Bank of Geneva.

Old Line Bancshares has agreed to buy WSB Holdings in a deal that will combine two banks based in Bowie, Md.

Unprecedented regulatory demands and competition require banks to continue innovating and diversifying, says Aubrey Patterson, the Tupelo, Miss.-based company's longtime CEO, in a wide-ranging interview.

Urban Partnership Bank, a Chicago bank formed to buy ShoreBank's deposits and assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 2010, has agreed to buy a large branch in Chicago's South Side from Northern Trust (NTRS).

Beth Mooney believes regional banks have a competitive advantage against their largest competitors given the "onerous" compliance requirements for $1 trillion-asset banks under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Sandy Weill's call to break up big banks invoked the Main Street bankers who have blasted Wall Street fat cats like him for years. What next for him — a director post at a small bank in Peoria?

The next six months are critical to the bank if it is to exit Tarp and stay independent, says Kessel Stelling, the Columbus, Ga., company’s chairman and CEO.

Business borrowers are worried about the economy, and that could slow the momentum in lending the rest of the year, the heads of BB&T, Fifth Third and Huntington warn. However, banks can survive by stealing market share, focusing on stronger markets and managing risk, executives say.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) boosted quarterly profits thanks to slightly stronger revenue and a special gain associated with a former processing unit.