PayPal Inc., a pioneer in alternative online payments, is now seeking to stake a new claim in the burgeoning and increasingly congested mobile payments space — and what sets it apart may be a three-year-old acquisition.

Windham Professionals, a collection agency based in Salem, N.H., plans to open an office in Alcoa, Tenn. by February 2012. The agency expects to hire 125 employees in the fields of "accounting, administration, human resources and training," according to a company news release.

BB&T Corp., the ninth-largest U.S. bank by deposits, may consider acquisitions in Maryland and Texas to reach at least a No. 5 market share in those states, chief executive officer Kelly King said.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. said Thursday that its third-quarter loss narrowed considerably from the same period last year, but that credit quality weakened somewhat during one of its last quarters as a bank holding company.

Dealmakers are focused on community banks, especially private ones.

Joseph E. Hasten, a former vice chairman at U.S. Bancorp, died Tuesday after a brief illness. He was 59.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday said it has issued a consent order to a Baltimore company, instructing it to take action to improve the composition and business practices of its board.

Ocean Store Holding Co. in Ocean City, N.J., reported late Wednesday that its third-quarter earnings fell 16% from a year earlier, to $1.2 million, due to expenses tied to an acquisition.

BB&T Corp. in Winston Salem, N.C., said Thursday that it had inked its third insurance deal in as many months with the acquisition of California employee-benefits consulting firm, Precept Group.

Wells Fargo & Co. said it will buy a $3.3 billion commercial real-estate portfolio from the failed Anglo Irish Bank Corp. as the San Francisco bank continues to grow its commercial real estate loans.

Community Bancorp LLC in Houston said Wednesday that it will change its name to Cadence Bancorp LLC next week.

The Johnson family, which also controls S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., pumped $235 million into Johnson Financial after efforts to bring in outside funds were unsuccessful.

Bank technology provider Fiserv has positioned itself for a wave of growth in electronic payments. It expects its recently purchased CashEdge and related business lines to balloon in the coming years.

United Recovery Systems Inc. (URS), a Houston-based accounts receivable management firm, has acquired Plaza Associates, a New York City-based collection agency, and A.C.B. American Inc. (ACB), a health care collections company located in Kentucky, M&A advisory firm Flock Advisors announced Wednesday.

BB&T Corp.'s unusual deal to extract the most valuable parts of BankAtlantic shows how inventive dealmakers can get a leg up on their rivals in the topsy-turvy merger market.

Alan Levan, the chairman and chief executive of BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc., stated earlier this year that he was energized over his company's future. Turns out that the future involves an exit from banking.

DCB Financial Corp. in Lewis Center, Ohio, said will hire an investment bank to help it explore ways to raise capital.

Wells Fargo is consolidating some of its wealth-management operations into a new unit, in an effort to get its hands on more of its clients' money.

Nara Bancorp Inc. in Los Angeles said late Monday that it completed a $63.3 million public offering of its common stock.

Sabal Financial Group L.P. in Newport Beach, Calif., has purchased $142.2 million of loans from Bank of the Cascades in Bend, Ore.