The rebound of credit card lending is having nasty side effects for Capital One Financial Corp. and American Express Co., which are increasingly spending more to compete for the most credit-worthy customers.

The Florida bank found out this week that the golden rule of M&A that sellers are in the driver's seat may not be true in this market. It was a major miscalculation, experts say.

After buying four failed banks in less than two years, City National Corp. in Los Angeles is now eyeing acquisitions of healthier banks while it continues to pursue organic growth in its existing markets.

Serial acquirer Grandpoint Capital Inc. has announced its first acquisition of 2012 as it prepares for the closing of its last announced deal.

Four months after its planned sale to Texas investment group fell through, The Bank Arlington near Dallas has found another buyer.

The agreements with rivals Community Bank System and Financial Institutions Inc. would complete First Niagara's planned divestitures in connection with its blockbuster deal for much of HSBC Bank's retail franchise.

Comerica Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings were flat from a year earlier as merger-related charges masked the financial-services company's increase in loans.

Auburn National Bancorp in Alabama announced two moves that will largely offset each other during the first quarter.

Capital One Financial Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit fell almost 42% from year earlier to $407 million, as the bank's expenses surged.

BankUnited Inc. once seemed intent to grow on its own. But now, after a brief flirtation with selling itself, the company's main job will be assuring key constituents that it's simply going to stick around.

Scott Thompson's abrupt departure as PayPal's president leaves PayPal in the hands of a team of competent executives, but raises the question of who among them, if any, will be tapped to fill his role.

A good-news/bad-news story is the best way to describe fourth quarter 2011 results. The numbers also hold clues to where the banking business is heading.

Did an anonymous open letter to BankUnited CEO John Kanas, emailed to all of the bank's employees, imploring him not to sell the bank really have an impact on the decision to abandon the sale?

Gateway Bancshares Inc. in Ringgold, Ga., is selling itself to rival First Volunteer Corp. in Chattanooga, Tenn., and its chief executive said that the decision was driven largely by the need for scale.

Kelly King said he is willing to pass on deals, a day after its reported target, BankUnited, opted to remain independent.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. in Kalispell, Mont., is planning to collapse its 11 bank subsidiaries into a single commercial bank in a move aimed at streamlining its operations and lowering its overall compliance costs.

Wintrust Financial Corp. in Lake Forest, Ill., reported late Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 35% from a year earlier, to $19.2 million, as credit costs subsided and the company benefited from an 11% jump in earning assets from a year earlier.

Bank of America Corp. closed out the turbulent 2011 year with better-than-expected revenue in the final three months, driving the bank to a fourth-quarter profit compared with the prior year's loss.

BankUnited issued a press release confirming rumors that it did in fact engage an investment bank to find a possible buyer for the company, but has opted to stay independent.

Target Corp., which has tried for years to sell its credit card assets, is giving up for now, and it is spending more than $2.8 billion to divorce itself from JPMorgan Chase & Co.