Robert Barba

Zions Bancorp.'s earnings fell 62% in the third quarter to $79.1 million as the company implemented a number of maneuvers to reduce its risk and enhance its capital.

Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., set out a few years ago to become more commercially focused by going after more multifamily and commercial real estate loans. The goal is for such loans to make up 50% and at the end of the third quarter they were 38%.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., reported third-quarter earnings of $40.2 million, as increases in interest and fee income were partially offset by heavier expenses.

AmericanWest is buying Bank of Sacramento for $60 million in cash. Although the deal was being negotiated well before the recent market sell-off, it serves as a good example of the comfort of a fixed cash price.

Legal settlements. Restructuring charges. Compliance costs. They seem ceaseless, and they are making it harder for big banks like JPMorgan Chase to convince investors that they need flexibility to increase spending in other areas to fuel revenue growth.

The third quarter had fewer deals compared to the second quarter, but three fundamental attributes of normalized M&A appeared: bigger players, shorter regulatory approvals times and interest from more buyers.

The Federal Reserve Board has published an 11-page guide for banks looking to acquire large rivals.

Prosperity thought it had its bases covered, adding a clause in an employment agreement with lenders at an acquired bank in Oklahoma establishing Texas law as the jurisdiction for the contract. A judge disagreed in a decision that should get the attention of banks eyeing out-of-state deals.

Regulators consider bankers' timing needs when reviewing deals, but it certainly isn't their top concern, advisers say. H&R Block and BofI are learning that the hard way after being told that their bank deal will not be approved this year.

Bob Beauprez, a former community banker and Republican congressman, is challenging incumbent John Hickenlooper in Colorado's gubernatorial race. A pro-Hickenlooper group has released ads attacking Beauprez's banking ties, including the sale of his bank to First Community Bank in Taos, N.M. That bank failed in 2011.

The private equity firm of Texas billionaire Gerald J. Ford, is planning a tender offer for up to 65% of Mechanics Bank in Walnut Creek, Calif. If completed, the deal would be the first deployment of the $755 million that Ford's fund raised last year.

Sunflower Financial is adding loans and growing in Denver. First Western Financial has tepid loan growth, but its prowess in private banking is enviable. Casual talks between their CEOs led them to the realization they could build on each other’s strengths.

Sunflower Financial in Salina, Kan., is poised to strengthen its presence in Denver.

Federal Savings Bank in Chicago has teamed up with West Suburban Bank in Lombard, Ill., to offer mortgage products across West Suburban's 37-branch network.

Mitch Feiger, CEO of MB Financial, along with Mark Hoppe, former Taylor CEO, reflect on the merger, the regulatory environment and keeping key people happy in the highly competitive Chicago market.

Prosperity Bancshares and Hancock Holding knew they would lose significant interchange income when they hit the $10 billion mark, but they were not quite ready for the increased regulatory scrutiny that came with that growth.

Capital Bank Financial shares a problem with other investor-backed companies built to make a lot of bank acquisitions: their stocks trade at low premiums because they are overcapitalized, but they are unable to deploy their capital in M&A deals because of those low stock values.

Big banks are still avoiding bank M&A, but the reasons are evolving. Plenty are still looking inward, while others are focusing on buying fee businesses. U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis says he doesn't want to be burdened with an integration when the economy takes off.

BB&T is back the business of buying banks for the first time in several years, even though most of its peers think regulators are opposed to big-bank M&A. BB&T's investments in compliance improvements make its executives feel confident about getting new deals done, CEO Kelly King says.

Camden Fine at the Independent Community Bankers of America believes entrepreneurial bankers will return to starting new banks in the latter half of this decade as the industry adjusts to the new business conditions and as consolidation creates voids.