Returns on equity. Loans. Deposits. Those are the things that make a seller attractive — not trading multiples and capital, says Prosperity Bancshares CEO David Zalman, who has struck five deals in Texas in slightly more than a year.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board stands ready to repeal a directive that allows banks to record a gain in income when the value of their own fixed-income securities decreases, and losses when the liabilities' worth rises.

The $1 billion-asset bank unit of Heritage Oaks Bancorp (HEOP) on Monday announced it would acquire a branch in Morro Bay from Coast Bancorp (CTBP) in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

A breakdown of bank M&A announcements for the week ended Sept. 29.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., has agreed to buy another failed bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

To satisfy creditors, Big Sandy Holding's bankruptcy plan, filed on Thursday, calls for an auction of its $840 million-asset unit, Mile High Banks.

Bank of America said Friday it would pay $2.43 billion to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its purchase of Merrill Lynch, in an expensive effort to resolve one of many problems it faces from the financial crisis.

The $15.9 billion-asset bank said Thursday that Lisa Etre, William McCarthy and Jessica Ruiz have joined Signature from Hudson Valley Bank (HVB) in Yonkers, N.Y., and that Dennis Sheridan has joined from Valley National Bank (VLY) in Wayne, N.J.

MainSource Bank in Greensburg, Ind., has agreed to buy the assets managed by Krumme and Brock Investment Services in Seymour, Ind. The employees of the Krumme firm, including owners Galen Krumme and Cliff Brock, would join MainSource Bank's wealth management division.

An unnamed investor will inject $5.5 million into the troubled Anchor Commercial Bank in North Palm Beach, Fla., through a subscription agreement.

Hampton Roads Bankshares in Norfolk, Va., has completed its $45 million rights offering, though its private-equity partners were the largest contributors.

Aquiline Capital Partners, a private-equity firm based in New York, is buying First Investors Financial Services Group, a Houston auto lender, for $100 million.

Banks are growing increasingly worried that the failure to stem impending tax hikes and steep budget cuts could reduce lending demand, savage profits and cripple M&A activity.

The $1.5 billion-asset Fidelity said it plans to consolidate its existing branch in Liberty, N.C., into the newly acquired location less than a mile away.

Forget the chitchat, find seasoned bankers (especially from your previous employer) and invite them over to meet the CEO — that's the recruiting formula Rodney Rushing uses at ServisFirst.

Rusty Cloutier, the Lafayette, La., company's CEO, says MidSouth can double in size over the next five years without making another large acquisition.

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (KFFB) has received approval from Federal Reserve Board to waive its right to receive a dividend.

Getting a good deal is sometimes about more than fetching top dollar, as private-equity investors in West Coast Bancorp demonstrate in their agreement to sell to Columbia Banking.

First Bancorp in Troy, N.C., has agreed to buy a branch from Four Oaks Fincorp in Rockingham and will also acquire $64 million in deposits and $22 million in loans associated with a branch in Southern Pines.

MidSouth Bancorp (MSL) in Lafayette, La., is expanding northward with an agreement to buy PSB Financial in Many, La., for $39 million.