Citizens Republic had been rumored to be on the block for several weeks. Analysts are also calling the deal significant, but pricey, for FirstMerit.

The Federal Reserve is taking steps to boost the economic recovery by buying an additional $40 billion of mortgage debt each month.

Fair Isaac Corp. has completed its $115 million acquisition of Adeptra, a privately held company that provides technology for reducing fraud and credit risk.

Capital One's CEO expresses concern that innovations from the likes of Google and PayPal could put banks in a "back seat." He also says the bank is done with acquisitions for the time being.

Executives clashed over whether to add or kill branches, parried M&A rumors, defended big banks and braced for economic slowdown at the Barclays financial services conference in New York.

BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest bank, embarked on a five-year plan to expand services to affluent U.S. clients as the company looks to businesses beyond its core European market for growth.

Regions has retooled its wealth management operations, an effort that was partly spurred by the company's sale of Morgan Keegan earlier this year.

Banks have to spend money to make money and avoid overreliance on acquisitions, BB&T's CEO said in discussing plans for de novo branches and other investments.

Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) is eyeing acquisitions of community banks, but its chief executive says it has little interest in failed banks and would only consider deals within its existing markets.

Maryland bankers should team up and stop selling out to big, out-of-state players, says Old Line Bancshares' James Cornelsen. The choices they face say a lot about the options available to bankers across the country.

Without naming names, CFO Tim Sloan threw cold water on the idea that the San Francisco bank would acquire the credit card giant.

Republic Bancorp CEO Steve Trager sees a recent purchase of First Commercial Bank as an opportunity to grow in Minnesota, despite being 700 miles from Republic's Kentucky home.

Mid-America Bankshares of Baldwin City, Kan., will buy a branch from Garnett Bancshares. The deal extends a string of deals involving community banks in Kansas.

FICO, the credit scoring company, plans to provide banks with services that ferret out fraud in real time.

BB&T signs a 10-year deal for naming rights to the former BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., home of the NHL's Florida Panthers. It is part of the spoils from the North Carolina bank's acquisition of BankAtlantic.

National Bank Holdings in Greenwood, Colo., plans to raise up to $180.9 million after completing an initial public offering.

Debt buyer Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. plans to grow its legal collections business in Florida while closing an Arizona call center and transitioning inventory to an India channel.

Broadway Bank in San Antonio is continuing its growth northward with plans to open several branches around Austin, Texas.

Old Line Bancshares has agreed to buy WSB Holdings in a deal that will combine two banks based in Bowie, Md.

Executives at FirstMerit, PNC and KeyCorp — which have acquired branches in deals in recent years — are seeking to wring substantial cost savings from their brick-and-mortar networks and rely more on high-tech services.