Robert Barba

Federal regulators ended a three-week hiatus by shuttering a small New Jersey thrift on Friday.

Republic Bancorp booked a $28 million bargain purchase gain on its purchase of the failed Tennessee Commerce Bank. The company is now looking for other deals as it searches for ways to augment revenues it will lose from ending a controversial tax.

Before the financial crisis, having a 1% ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets was the baseline between good and bad banks. In the new normal, breaking that glass bottom appears to be the new goal for greatness.

OMG, earnings season is a rough time, but Richard Davis, the Minneapolis bank's CEO, borrows from the teenage lexicon to lighten the mood.

S.Y. Bancorp (SYBT) in Louisville, Ky., posted record earnings in the first quarter even as its loan portfolio is beginning to show some cracks.

U.S. Bancorp and Comerica produced strong loan growth in the first quarter, but sustaining it partly will depend on converting commercial loan commitments into loans — something, they say, that is easier said than done.

Big cost hits on debit and credit cards have already happened, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has not made any overly threatening moves yet, Davis says.

Second-step conversions by mutual holding companies have been in a freeze since last summer, but at least one analyst believes that the market is set to thaw.

Scores of community banks could soon deregister from the Securities and Exchange Commission due to a clause in the newly signed law. But some lawyers warn that activist investors could take advantage of banks that decide to stop filing documents with the SEC.

A recent credit union conference in Chicago featured a presentation of what a futuristic branch could look like.

The Lansing, Mich., company has turned its inventory of community banks into a garage sale to bring in capital to support its struggling banks. With fewer banks left to sell, industry observers say Capitol has few options to keep capital levels above regulatory minimums for failure.

Banks announced 21 deals in March, capping the best quarter for M&A in nearly two years. Investment bankers say the momentum should continue to build throughout the year, adding that 2013 should be a particularly busy year of consolidation.

Legislators are considering a proposed tax overhaul that would move $30 million of taxes from community banks to larger banks. With smaller bills, community banks say they can lend more.

The Treasury Department is looking to fully vacate its role as a common shareholder of Central Pacific Financial in Honolulu.

AmericanWest Bank in Spokane, Wash., is deepening its presence in California with plans to acquire Security Business Bank of San Diego.

At least three serial consolidators are positioning themselves for more deals should the right opportunity arise. SCBT and Iberiabank filed shelf registrations this month, while Wintrust raised $127 million.

State regulators closed two banks on Friday, bringing the year's tally to 15. The two failures, in Georgia and Illinois, are expected to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $ 95.6 million.

Several large banks are facing a potential credit-rating downgrade, raising questions whether they could withstand collateral calls on their derivatives. But the post-crisis push for higher liquidity and leaner balance sheets may have steeled them from the threat.

PSB Bancorp in Wisconsin is requiring Marathon State Bank to pay out a special dividend before the deal closes. While unusual now, the move harkens back to a pre-crisis tactic that existed when capital wasn't a concern.

During an appearance to business journalists, Cordray defended his agency's powers.