Wilbur Ross says in an email to American Banker that BankUnited tried to sell only after an unnamed investment bank told management it could fetch a "substantial premium above market."

A dearth of failed banks and an artificially low interest rate environment are causing headaches for many firms that now must face an uphill climb before cashing out.

While Citigroup Inc. struggles to get rid of its consumer lending unit, banks including Wells Fargo & Co. and SunTrust Banks Inc. are expanding their similar businesses.

The Justice Department has again delayed its decision on the ACI Worldwide acquisition of S1, prompting ACI to extend the closing of the acquisition until Feb. 10.

HSBC Holdings PLC said Tuesday it is selling its Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras businesses to Colombian banking group Banco Davivienda SA for $801 million, as it continues to whittle down its portfolio of global retail banking assets.

NBT Bancorp Inc. in Norwich, N.Y., said late Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 5% from a year earlier as lower interest yields squeezed its net interest margin.

Synovus Financial Corp. swung to a profit in the fourth quarter after sharply reduced funds held for risky loans helped the regional lender report its second straight quarter in the black.

Regions Financial Corp. swung to a fourth-quarter loss, with the regional lender booking a hefty write-down following a long-planned deal to sell its brokerage unit.

SunTrust Banks Inc. has acquired FirstAgain LLC, an online lender that targets superprime borrowers.

First Independent Bank has notified employees whose jobs will be eliminated after the Vancouver, Wash., bank is sold to Sterling Financial Corp. of Spokane, Wash.

Community Bank System Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y., is planning to raise $50 million in a stock sale primarily to fund its acquisition of 19 upstate New York branches from rival First Niagara Financial Group Inc.

Last week's wave of acquisitions involving sellers with less than $500 million in assets could present an opportunity for investors who want to get in on consolidation but lack the large sums of cash held at private equity firms.

Cautious executives at big regionals offer strict criteria for dealmaking, emphasize internal growth and play up niche targets in sharing their M&A outlooks.

Virgin Money Holdings U.K. Ltd. is in the final stages of buying part of MBNA Europe Bank Ltd.'s 10 billion-pound ($15.5 billion) U.K. and Irish credit card portfolio, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Tennessee Commerce Bancorp has missed a regulatory deadline for improving its capital ratios and is now warning investors that it is likely to fail if it is unable to raise fresh capital or find a buyer.

LONDON - Bridgepoint is in exclusive talks to buy Morgan Stanley's wealth management unit, Quilter, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.

WASHINGTON — In the first three closures of the year, regulators shuttered institutions in Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania.

Kelly King is bullish about BB&T's growth opportunity this year, and he believes the company has many options when it comes to M&A.

Bank of the West in El Paso, Texas, is changing its name to WestStar Bank to avoid confusion with a much larger San Francisco bank that shares its name.

Provident Bank president and chief executive Jack Kopnisky wasted no time in making good on his promise to hire bankers away from his competitors.