ConnectOne is a busy lender but light on deposits, while Center Bancorp has a low loan-to-deposit ratio. The combined company will stand a better chance at organic loan growth in the future. More deals like it are coming as banks look to a more robust lending environment in the next few years.

Wells Fargo (WFC) has forbidden its employees from participating in peer-to-peer lending, according to a Monday report in the Financial Times.

The Southeastern companies used the fourth quarter to record several one-time expenses that dinged their bottom lines. Still, observers detected strength in their core results.

The $22.4 billion-asset company reported a profit of $64.3 million, or $1.34 per share, a 28% increase from the same quarter in 2012.

Arrow Financial (AROW) in Glens Falls, N.Y., posted higher earnings in the fourth quarter as it benefited from lower expenses related interest-earning deposits.

First Citizens Banc Corp (FCZA) in Sandusky, Ohio, is planning to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Community National Bank in Derby, Vt., has promoted Kathryn Austin to chief operating officer. She will continue as executive vice president in charge of retail banking at Community National and its parent, Community Bancorp.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., a member of the Senate Banking Committee, announced Tuesday that he will run for governor of Louisiana in 2015.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland has reset its governance boards for the year, including naming Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) Chief Executive Kevin Kabat as a director.

Charmian Uy, the U.S. Treasury's chief investment officer for the Trouble Asset Relief Program, details the government's strategy to exit a program that she believes "will be judged favorably over time."

Several more banks have disclosed financial hits because they hold securities that regulators declined to exempt from the Volcker Rule. Many of the bankers are upset because they are taking impairment charges on performing securities.

Third Point LLC, the hedge-fund firm led by billionaire Daniel Loeb, has become one of Ally Financial Inc.'s largest shareholders as the U.S. government reduces its stake in the company.

This is 2014, not 2008. The problem is not subprime mortgage lenders, but a pendulum of federal regulation that has swung to such an extreme that worthy, qualified borrowers are being turned away.

Synovus Financial (SNV) in Columbus, Ga., reported lower quarterly earnings because of a decline in mortgage banking revenue and a litigation-related charge.

A new report from Moody's suggests that roughly a dozen regional banks are at risk of sustaining meaningful credit losses on home equity lines of credit that were originated in the boom years and are scheduled to reset over the next three years.

None of us is above human error, but it's worth reminding financial institutions that these interactions can affect the psychological well-being of their clients.

The British Columbia Supreme Court in Canada has ruled that TransUnion can’t keep consumer credit data such as late payments on its records for more than six years.

Regions Financial (RF) in Birmingham, Ala., said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 14% from the same period in 2012, to $227 million, due to a number of one-time charges it took to strengthen its balance sheet and improve efficiency.

The new "One Deposit Checking" account can be opened with as little as $25. The bank is counting on it to help it sell more products to checking account holders.

Center Bancorp (CNBC) in Union, N.J., has agreed to buy ConnectOne Bancorp (CNOB) in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.