State Bank Financial Corp.'s shares slid Monday after the Atlanta company reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

Investors in January backed off the higher rates they had been demanding for leveraged loans, but prospective issuers are reluctant to bite on the cheap financing for various reasons.

Sovereign Bank in Dallas is converting its loan production office in Houston into a regional headquarters and is eyeing further expansion in Texas' largest city.

Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. in Pennsylvania is acquiring a Philadelphia-area wealth management firm from Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. and the firm's management group.

After Brian Moynihan became CEO at the start of 2010, B of A's stock lost more than half its value. Meanwhile, the leading bank stock index, KBW, scarcely went down at all. And B of A was recently selling for about 1/3 of book, a remarkably low valuation. Evidently enormous further losses are expected. Why?

Deep down in the bowels of Fiserv's business lies the company's mobile banking revenue. But Fiserv is counting on the numerous investments it's made in mobile banking and alternative payments to spur its growth.

Howard Milstein and other members of the family that owns Emigrant have hired Barclays Capital to explore selling its 33 branches or online banking operation. Emigrant still has to repay its federal aid and has been weighed down by problem loans.

The family that owns consumer products giant S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. has won approval from the Federal Reserve Board to invest $235 million in its ailing namesake bank.

The Department of Justice closed its investigation into the proposed merger between ACI and S1 Corp.

Continuing its string of insurance agency deals, BB&T Corp. announced Friday that it is buying the life and property and casualty insurance divisions of Crump Group Inc. for about $570 million in cash.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Chairman Alan Levan says his company would likely be "out of business" within two years if certain investors succeed in blocking the sale of BankAtlantic's thrift to BB&T Corp.

Provident Financial Holdings Inc. in Riverside, Calif., has hired 40 people from MetLife Inc. to run three new retail mortgage loan production offices in Northern California.

Ally Financial is "on par" with any top-tier financial company — as long as analysts ignore the massive mortgage problems that made the lender lose $250 million in the fourth quarter, CEO Michael Carpenter says.

In what would be its first bank acquisition in seven years, Center Bancorp Inc. in Union, N.J., announced Thursday that it is buying the private-equity backed Saddle River Valley Bank in an all-cash deal.

Oft-shunned in the M&A world, unlisted shares can lead to a bigger payoff for sellers and offer other advantages, explains investment banker Curtis Carpenter.

MADRID - A potential merger between Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Bankia SA would be difficult to execute because of its size and potential systemic risks, BBVA Chairman Francisco Gonzalez said Thursday.

LONDON - HSBC Holdings PLC will shutter its fund administration business in the U.S. and shift it to Ireland in one of the global bank's latest moves to control costs and refocus its sprawling business, people familiar with the matter said this week.

FTN Financial, the investment-banking arm of First Tennessee Bank, announced Wednesday that it has acquired Main Street Capital Advisors LLC, a boutique consulting firm that specializes in advising state and local governments.

Several banks recaptured deferred tax assets in the fourth quarter, regaining an asset they had to remove from balance sheets as quarterly losses piled up during the financial crisis. Banks that are reclaiming these assets have been able to boost capital levels.

The Minneapolis bank has agreed to buy a trust business from Union Bank. That is its third deal in less than a week.