Robert Barba is the technology editor of American Banker. Robert previously served as deputy editor of American Banker's dealmaking and strategy section. He joined American Banker in late 2007 as a community banking reporter, just in time for the financial crisis. Robert played a lead role in covering community banks' struggle for survival in the years following the downturn. Robert has appeared on Fox Business to discuss bank failures and the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Prior to joining American Banker, Robert was a general business reporter at Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Stuart, Fla. He began his career as a business desk intern at The Denver Post and Boulder Daily Camera. Robert is based in New York.
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Protests by community groups and now a public hearing threaten to delay the completion of CIT's acquisition of OneWest Bank. The deal will probably get approved, and it might not get delayed too long, but all those "probablys" and "mights" are what make the proponents of more big M&A queasy.
February 6 -
Regulators are taking their review of CIT Group's agreement to buy OneWest Bank to a public forum, following community activists' complaints about the deal.
February 6 -
Three recent deals involving midsize sellers have gone far reversing regional bankers' fears of M&A. Still, the real evidence of progress must involve seeing those deals close.
February 2 -
Banks like Cullen/Frost and BOK Financial say they have found one, in the form of higher energy-sector loan balances last quarter and the chance to finance consolidation among oil firms. But such spurts may only mask longer-term problems.
January 28 -
Doral Financial in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said that the FDIC has placed its bank under a prompt corrective action directive, an enforcement order that is often considered one of the last public warnings before regulators move to place the bank into conservatorship.
January 28 -
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation closed the $54.7 million-asset Highland Community Bank in Chicago on Friday.
January 23 -
The focus on raising the $50 billion-asset threshold determining which banks face the toughest provisions is highlighting interest in letting more community banks enjoy exemptions written into the law.
January 23 -
Royal Bank of Canada sold its U.S. retail bank a few years ago to PNC. The company is back with a targeted play: City National, a Los Angeles bank that has built its business targeting the rich and working with Hollywood.
January 22 -
Fifth Third Bancorp and U.S. Bancorp say they will delicately approach expenses in 2015 or at least until rates rise. They are investing where they must, but pinching where they can, and trying to manage expectations on loan growth.
January 21 -
U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis reported higher quarter earnings as revenue growth outpaced higher expenses.
January 21 -
The Louisiana company is the latest out-of-stater to move into the Sunshine State after buying a failed bank in the Florida Panhandle. First NBC's chief executive made it clear his company has more expansion in mind.
January 20 -
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed First National Bank of Crestview in Florida on Friday, marking this year's first bank failure.
January 16 -
The past year was a bit of slog for most regional banks and, if fourth-quarter results are any indication of what's ahead, then 2015 isn't looking much better.
January 16 -
PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh reported flat earnings from a year earlier due to a slight drop in revenue and marginally higher costs.
January 16 -
Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., reported higher quarterly earnings on increased revenue, with fourth-quarter profit rose 8% from a year earlier, to $38.13 million.
January 15 -
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon had to defend the company against calls to break it up, doubts about its ability to command higher prices and greater efficiency, and investor disappointment with fourth-quarter results.
January 14 -
It took more than year for ViewPoint Financial and LegacyTexas to complete a transformational merger near Dallas. The company, which took the seller's name, is now trying to meet its targets in the face of plummeting oil prices.
January 13 -
Potential buyers have long been wary of high premiums and the potential for volatility in the energy sector. A harsh correction in oil prices and Texas bank pricing has suddenly given those banks a chance to revisit their views.
January 8 -
Synechron, an information technology company focused on the financial services industry, is increasing its global presence with its latest acquisition.
January 8 -
Jimmy Dunne, a senior managing principal at the Sandler O'Neill, recently discusses the state of bank M&A, the importance of size and scale and why he never wants to take his New York investment bank public.
January 6
