It took more than a year for First PacTrust, which was new to the M&A game, to get banking regulators to approve its deal for Gateway Bancorp. The deal is scheduled to close in two weeks.

Across the industry, the formation of new credit problems has fallen to pre-recession levels. Assets continued to sour at a troubling pace at some banks in the second quarter of 2012, however.

The prepaid provider NetSpend is projecting an increase in revenue in the second half of the year as it aims to grab additional retail business from its chief rival.

City Holding of West Virginia is buying Community Financial, which had a 120% loan-to-deposit ratio at March 31. The deal allows City Holding solve an issue plaguing many community banks: how to find loans to offset record deposit growth.

Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. (CRBC), the Michigan lender that has yet to repay a $300 million U.S. government bailout, is soliciting takeover bids from competitors, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

CertusBank has agreed to buy Myers Park Mortgage, a private mortgage company in Charlotte, N.C.

OceanFirst Financial announced Friday that its president and chief operating officer, Vito R. Nardelli, is stepping down at the end of August "to explore various professional and personal opportunities."

FHFA nixes principal reductions; Democrats seethe but bankers cheer DeMarco; end in sight for refi boom.

American Express Co., the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases, said it may be forced to refund customers as bank regulators weigh enforcement actions based on consumer-protection laws.

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City Holding in Cross Lanes, W.Va., continues to bulk up in Virginia, announcing late Thursday that it is buying Community Financial in Staunton for $26.1 million in stock.

WASHINGTON – The Senate adjourned yesterday for its annual five-week summer vacation, leaving behind numerous credit union-critical bills, including the bipartisan bill to eliminate redundant fee disclosures at the ATM—even though the credit union-backed measure passed the House unanimously last month.

Google is changing nearly everything about how it handles transactions.

LAKELAND, Fla. – MidFlorida CU, which is integrating mergers on Florida’s west and east coasts, is opening a new branch in Plant City in a former Regions Bank branch.

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. – Navy FCU is opening its fourth Arizona branch here Monday near Fort Huachuca, which will serve Army and Air Force personnel.

LIVE OAK, Texas – Randolph-Brooks FCU opened its administration services center in north Austin Wednesday and plans to open four new branches in the near future.

Community Bank System will close five branches in September. Three of the targeted branches are ones that First Niagara acquired from HSBC and then sold to Community Bank in July.

After initially dragging their feet, the largest mortgage servicers have modified nearly 70% of loans from delinquent borrowers that qualify, thanks largely to government incentives.

The banking unit of American Bancorporation in St. Paul, Minn., has plans to shutter at least its third branch of the year by the end of this month.

U.S. regulators said Thursday they will be giving homeowners who believe they may have been wrongfully foreclosed upon more time to get an independent review.