Robert Barba

The Dallas investment group completed its tender offer for Mechanics Bank last month, culminating a three-year hunt for a target to serve as the base of its roll-up strategy. With that piece in place, the company is looking to buy other banks in northern California

Shareholders of JPMorgan Chase voted in favor of Jamie Dimon keeping the chairman and chief executive roles. They likely fear Dimon would retire if stripped of one of the jobs.

More banks are steadily raising and reinstating cash dividends. Bankers say the increases reflect improving confidence with the economy, though some investors contend that higher payouts signal challenges deploying capital.

JPMorgan Chase has to plead guilty to an antitrust charge if it wants to resolve the Justice Department's investigation into its foreign-exchange trading activities, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

Looking past standard gauges of return on equity and return on assets, bank investors have wide opinions on what makes a bank a high-performing institution relative to peers.

The Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation closed the $90 million-asset Edgebrook Bank in Chicago on Friday.

The company recently completed its purchase of Central Bancshares. Following a methodically spaced-out integration, management expects it will be in a special position to do more deals in the state because MidWestOne is publicly traded.

Four former officers of Wilmington Trust have been charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the bankers of intentionally understating past-due loans in 2009 and 2010. Two of the bankers face criminal charges.

A chief financial officer's workday is booked solid dealing with regulatory issues, risk assessments and finding places to cut costs. If they could find an extra hour, bank CFOs say they would use that time to consider how to improve their banks' strategies, employees and communities.

If banking is under attack, then chief financial officers are the defenders of the realm. Equipped with the numbers, they are uniquely positioned to bring the credible answers their stakeholders seek and the changes their companies need.

The decision to promote David Casper, BMO Harris' head of commercial lending, should show that the Chicago bank is ready to push back against aggressive competitors in the Midwest

Banks in Baltimore seem to have avoided the worst of the violence in the city's riots, though that's partly because they have few branches in some of the affected neighborhoods.

The California company is dealing with a pool of stressed energy loans it inherited from last year's purchase of CapitalSource. The pain shouldn't make the deal less appealing, but it is likely taking up more time than management may have expected.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., reported first-quarter earnings of $39.1 million, up 13% from a year earlier, as loans increased and mortgage revenue rose.

First-quarter results from U.S. Bancorp and PNC Financial Services Group shows banks have little choice but to wait until the Fed raises interest rates. They have cut expenses almost as far as they can go, and fee income is limited in how much it can offset narrower spread income.

JPMorgan Chase reported strong loan growth and higher utilization in its commercial banking unit, which serves midsize businesses. It could set the stage for others to report similar results. Still, low interest rates are muffling the benefits.

Pinnacle Financial Partners has struck its first deal in nearly eight years, and it has the capacity to do more as it seeks to double its assets in Tennessee. But CEO Terry Turner says it is more likely to grow organically because there aren't many banks left in the state that he would want to buy.

John W. Allison is always on the hunt for non-dilutive deals that will boost his Arkansas company's earnings. That has largely led to deals for Florida banks, but Home just agreed to buy nearly $300 million in nationwide commercial real estate credits and recruited a team to open a loan production office in New York.

Home BancShares in Conway, Ark., has found another opportunity in the failure of Doral Bank.

Pricing in Florida might be ticking higher as the state's economy booms, but some banks are still feeling the effects of the last downturn. Those banks are perhaps perfect candidates for acquirers looking to tap into the recovery.