American State Bancshares in Wichita, Kan., has agreed to acquire three Kansas branches from Simmons First National.

The head of the FCC on Wednesday circulated a fact sheet on a proposal aimed at clarifying robocall regulations, among other issues. While the sheet is light on details, at least one consumer group praised the action.

Cheviot Financial in Cincinnati said that Chairman Robert L. “Bob” Thomas died unexpectedly on Saturday.

An Atlanta collection agency will shut down after its owner settled alleged violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act. The deal requires him to stay out of the industry for five years or pay a $445,000 penalty.

If you think bank marketing is all, or even largely, about advertising, think again. As fewer customers make regular trips to branches, banks are relying more on their marketing departments to connect with the public. We asked bank marketing executives around the country to talk about the challenges they face and how their roles have evolved. Here are some of their responses.

The $447 million-asset Inland Northwest said Russell Lee will take over as CEO on June 29.

Community banks had a banner first quarter, federal regulators said Wednesday — but it may come at a problematic time, politically speaking. The Quarterly Banking Profile may only deepen some lawmakers concern that small banks do not need regulatory relief if they are performing so well.

Southwest Bancorp in Stillwater, Okla., has agreed to buy First Commercial Bancshares in Edmond, Okla.

Green Bancorp in Houston has agreed to buy Patriot Bancshares, saying it will pay $139 million in common stock for the $1.3 billion-asset parent of Patriot Bank.

San Diego-based Mitek, a firm that specializes in capturing mobile data for customer acquisition, has acquired Dutch identity verification company IDchecker.

Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., announced its second deal in Florida, a state that has been difficult for other out-of-state banks to enter.

The American Bankers Association announced that Rob Nichols, head of the Financial Services Forum and a former top Treasury Department official, would be its next CEO. The move appears designed to boost the ABA's profile inside the beltway.

In a sign that the GSEs may once again be trying to compete with each other, Freddie Mac will no longer charge lenders to use its Loan Prospector automated underwriting system.

Independence Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., has raised nearly $8.5 million to help it expand its payments, technology and digital banking operations.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's largest taxpayer-owned lender, could pay as much as $4.5 billion to resolve claims of misconduct in its handling of U.S. mortgage securities, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

The banking giant hopes that convenience — and less paperwork — will help it do more business with existing small business customers.

Women in banking are making big strides — but there's still a long way to go before achieving gender parity at the executive level. Here's how up-and-comers can carve out a path to the top.

F.N.B. in Pittsburgh has agreed to buy five branches from Bank of America in eastern Pennsylvania.