First Bancshares (FBMS) in Hattiesburg, Miss., has raised $20 million to finance its purchase of a bankrupt Gulf Coast lender.

CorTrust Bank in Mitchell, S.D., has acquired a one-branch bank in Blaine, Minn.

Auto dealership advocates are warning that costs will rise for borrowers if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau presses banks to curtail auto loan markups determined by dealers.

Volatile industries such as energy and agriculture are fueling strong results in states such as North Dakota and Iowa.

Liberty Bell Bank (LBBB) in Marlton, N.J., said it received a capital infusion from several directors in December, ending a year in which the bank lost $3.4 million.

Changes in regulation, the economy and technology have brought the retail banking industry to multiple crossroads. Some of the country's most senior bank executives gathered this month to ask each other for directions.

Yasmin Zarabi discusses steps financial institutions can take to prepare for social media compliance with impending regulation from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

NewBridge Bank (NBBC) in Greensboro, N.C., has created two executive positions, naming David Barksdale its chief strategy officer and Spence Broadhurst its chief sales officer.

The Federal Reserve Board has released Citizens Community Bancorp (CZWI) in Eau Claire, Wis., from an enforcement action.

Provident Financial Holdings (PROV) in Riverside, Calif., plans to repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding stock.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated enforcement actions against three banks: Bank of Bartlett, Bank of Little Rock, and Pembina County Bankshares.

Commercial lenders Ryan White, Bob Johnson and Bryant LeCroy joined CapitalMark in Tennessee because the smaller bank promised them more control of their loan book and better incentives, they say.

Big banks reversed a buildup in long-dated bonds over the last two quarters, a reassuring development amid worries that they might “reach for yield.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is warning indirect auto lenders that they could be violating fair-lending laws by not clamping down on auto dealers who often mark up the loans they issue.

Texas Capital Bancshares (TCBI) in Dallas is planning to raise $150 million by selling preferred stock.

A settlement between New York and the nation's largest force-placed insurer will kill bank commissions in the state and could dramatically alter the structure of the specialty insurance industry.

Investor Umberto Fedeli began pushing for changes at PVF Capital as early as 2007. After joining the board, helping the company turn itself around and eventually sell itself, he reflects on what it took to survive.

Purchasing $34 billion of servicing rights would provide Quicken with a steady income stream that could help offset the inevitable decline in refinancing activity.

Making bank buyouts work has long been a risky business. As the sudden ouster of First Niagara (FNFG) CEO John Koelmel shows, it may have gotten riskier still. Behind the perils are the complications of conducting due diligence, evaluating troubled assets, navigating regulations and pleasing dilution-averse shareholders.

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced a bill Thursday that would exempt financial institutions from having to send annual private notices if the disclosures haven’t changed from the year before.