First Community Bancshares in Bluefield, Va., spent $15.5 million to buy back the securities.

There is optimism that consolidation could bounce back from a lackluster 2016 as bank stocks rally. At the same time, expectations of regulatory easing and tax reform could entice more banks to stay independent, at least in the short term.

Credit unions are relying on tried-and-true methods of aiding the communities they serve, all while adding new and innovative strategies into the mix.

Flushing Financial in Uniondale, N.Y., has its next chairman lined up.

People's Utah Bancorp in American Fork has its next chief financial officer waiting in the wings a year in advance.

Advia Credit Union in Parchment, Mich., has agreed to buy Peoples Bank in Elkhorn, Wis.

Shore Bancshares in Easton, Md., has agreed to buy three branches around Baltimore from Northwest Bancshares in Warren, Pa.

A unit of M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., has bought certain operations of Philadelphia mortgage firm Carey, Kramer, Pettit, Panichelli & Associates.

Garrett Richter is taking on a bigger role at First Florida Integrity Bank in Naples.

An influx of new people to the Pacific Northwest and Southeast could have big implications for banking, from M&A to de novo efforts.

The Federal Reserve has terminated a written agreement with First Personal Financial in Orland Park, Ill., that had existed for more than six years.

The Dodd-Frank Act is just the latest in a long string of policy out of Washington that harmed the greatest banking system devised by man.

CenterState Banks in Winter Haven, Fla., is looking to raise at least $60 million through a public offering.

Columbia Banking System in Tacoma, Wash., landed the first sizeable deal of the New Year with an agreement to buy Pacific Continental in Eugene, Ore.

Scholarships, new facilities, hashtag competitions and more.

F.N.B., Iberiabank and Simmons First are among the banks entering new regions. A growing need for scale and increased use of technology are among the reasons for their aggressive moves.

Eastern Bank in Boston has hired a former Citi Cards executive to oversee its consumer-lending business.

New Frontier Bancshares in St. Charles, Mo., has hired the leader of another local bank as its new CEO.

Wayne Savings Bancshares in Wooster, Ohio, is facing pressure to sell itself just weeks after its CEO resigned.

Joseph Campanelli has run large publicly traded companies such as Sovereign Bancorp and Flagstar, but he seems more energized after agreeing to become CEO of Needham Bank, a depositor-owned mutual in Massachusetts.