First Financial Corp.'s willingness to pay nearly double the tangible book value for Freestar Bank outside of Chicago is the most expensive small bank deal in months.

Regions Financial Corp. has narrowed the bidders for its Morgan Keegan securities unit down to two, The Financial Times reported late Monday. The Blackstone Group L.P. and the Carlyle Group have joined forces, and Thomas H. Lee Partners is the other, the paper reported.

FNB United Corp. is another step closer to completing its proposed acquisition of Bank of Granite Corp. after receiving approval for the deal from the Federal Reserve of Richmond.

First Financial Corp. in Terre Haute, Ind., is bulking up in Illinois with a deal to acquire Freestar Bank in Pontiac for $47 million.

Online account opening provider Andera Inc. announced Tuesday that it has acquired oFlows Inc.

Royal Bank of Canada is in "advanced talks" to buy out Dexia from its partnership in RBC Dexia Investor Services as the European bank seeks to shed assets, The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday, citing comments by Luxembourg's finance minister at a press conference late Monday.

Banco Popular Espanol SA, the second-best-performing Spanish bank stock this year, has offered to buy Banco Pastor SA.

Two failures late Friday - one in Minnesota and one in Missouri = cost the Deposit Insurance Fund nearly $190 million.

Chaotic stock markets are complicating bank deals like Brookline's planned purchase of Bancorp Rhode Island. Brookline extended for the second time the deadline for the seller's shareholders to decide how they will be paid.

HSBC has appointed Irene Dorner, American Banker magazine's fourth most-powerful woman in banking, president and chief executive of HSBC USA.

Former Bank of America Corp. executive Sallie Krawcheck will receive $6 million after leaving the bank following a management reshuffle last month.

Ambassador Financial Group Inc. of Allentown, Pa., has bought Danielson Associates LLC of Bethesda, Md.

HSBC Holdings PLC said Friday that Niall Booker is leaving his position as chief executive officer of the bank's North American operations, with two senior executives set to take overall responsibility for the U.S. and Canada.

Virgin Money, the banking division of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Friday said it has appointed David Clementi as its new chairman to succeed the late Brian Pitman.

Barclays Capital will sell $1 billion in credit card asset-backed securities on Friday in the biggest such dollar-denominated deal from its Gracechurch bond issuing program since 2005, according to a person close the deal.

Reliant Bank in Brentwood, Tenn., is looking to raise up to $12 million to satisfy an agreement with regulators and to promote growth.

Capital rules, management challenges and other impediments will make it hard for large banks to grow over the next few decades.

Frustrated by a dearth of deals, a growing number of community banks are repurchasing their own shares and keeping them on hand for future opportunities.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. will take over the private-label credit card program for Pier 1 Imports Inc., the retailer said Thursday.

Capital rules, too big to fail, the European crisis and other wild cards are holding back deals, Jonathan Pruzan says. But a burst of mergers among midsize banks is possible.