Regions Financial Corp. swung to a fourth-quarter loss, with the regional lender booking a hefty write-down following a long-planned deal to sell its brokerage unit.

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Fueled by a lower provision for loan losses and rising net interest income, Cathay General Bancorp's profits surged more than 68% in the fourth quarter, to $23.6 million, from a year earlier.

First Independent Bank has notified employees whose jobs will be eliminated after the Vancouver, Wash., bank is sold to Sterling Financial Corp. of Spokane, Wash.

Community Bank System Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y., is planning to raise $50 million in a stock sale primarily to fund its acquisition of 19 upstate New York branches from rival First Niagara Financial Group Inc.

Elevated chargeoffs on commercial real estate loans and slightly increased expenses caused City Holding Co.'s fourth-quarter profits to dip 2%, to $9.7 million, from a year earlier.

Last week's wave of acquisitions involving sellers with less than $500 million in assets could present an opportunity for investors who want to get in on consolidation but lack the large sums of cash held at private equity firms.

Cautious executives at big regionals offer strict criteria for dealmaking, emphasize internal growth and play up niche targets in sharing their M&A outlooks.

Bank of Hawaii Corp. in Honolulu said Monday that fourth-quarter earnings fell 3.4% from a year earlier, to $39.2 million, as a decline in credit costs and higher net interest income could not offset a steep drop in fee income.

Nine months after it announced plans to raise up to $75 million issuing common and preferred shares to new and existing investors, Intermountain Community Bancorp in Sandpoint, Idaho, said Sunday that it now intends to raise no more than $59 million.

S&T Bancorp Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit rose nearly 7% from the prior quarter, to $9.3 million, but earnings per share missed analysts' projections as margins were squeezed and income from overdrafts declined.

Tennessee Commerce Bancorp has missed a regulatory deadline for improving its capital ratios and is now warning investors that it is likely to fail if it is unable to raise fresh capital or find a buyer.

WASHINGTON — In the first three closures of the year, regulators shuttered institutions in Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania.

Kelly King is bullish about BB&T's growth opportunity this year, and he believes the company has many options when it comes to M&A.

Bank of the West in El Paso, Texas, is changing its name to WestStar Bank to avoid confusion with a much larger San Francisco bank that shares its name.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule Friday that will impose new disclosure requirements for remittance transfers.

Provident Bank president and chief executive Jack Kopnisky wasted no time in making good on his promise to hire bankers away from his competitors.

The Florida bank found out this week that the golden rule of M&A that sellers are in the driver's seat may not be true in this market. It was a major miscalculation, experts say.

East West Bancorp Inc.'s shares surged early Friday following news that the Pasadena, Calif., company had a record-breaking 2011 and plans to double its dividend.

Serial acquirer Grandpoint Capital Inc. has announced its first acquisition of 2012 as it prepares for the closing of its last announced deal.