Simone Lagomarsino took the helm of Heritage Oaks in Paso Robles, Calif., on Monday. The veteran banker has a long track record of selling banks, but says she is here to build value.

Fiserv said Wednesday that it has completed its acquisition of the New York bank technology and payments vendor CashEdge.

In what would be its first whole-bank acquisition since 2008, Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston has announced plans to buy the $72 million-asset Texas Bankers Inc. in Austin.

S1's board advised the company's shareholders not to accept the exchange offer ACI made in its hostile bid. ACI's offer, which would disrupt S1's planned merger with Fundtech, "is not in the best interests of S1 or its stockholders," S1 said.

Bank of America is expected to close 750 branch offices nationwide. Community banks covet B of A's prime real estate, including Umpqua and First Niagara.

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Bank of New York Mellon Corp. pulled the sale of its Alcentra unit, which manages $17 billion of loans and high-yield bonds, according to three people with knowledge of the plan.

After making five acquisitions in less than three years, People's United Financial Inc. in Bridgeport, Conn., is now turning its attention to slashing overhead and growing its balance sheet more organically.

Continuing its aggressive expansion in Southern California, upstart Grandpoint Capital Inc. in Los Angeles is planning to buy Regents Bancshares Inc. in La Jolla.

John Allison may have retired as BB&T's CEO in 2008 but he still has strong opinions about the economy and banking industry. In a wide-ranging interview, he projects five years of stagnant growth, mixed results for M&A and 5-10% job cuts in the banking industry.

The largest shareholder at HF Financial Corp. has nominated its own slate of directors to challenge the candidates being backed by the management of the Sioux Falls, S.D., thrift company.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed First National Bank of Florida, in Milton, on Friday.

Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., plans another round of branch consolidations as it integrates the failed Integra Bank.

Regulators should not allow any more bank mergers if the resulting entity would exceed $100 billion in assets. The return is just not worth the risk.

Wells Fargo & Co. is considering placing a bid for the private banking business of Belgian bank KBC Group NV, a person familiar with the situation said Friday.

Safe. Small. Privately Held. Those were the descriptions of the five M&A deals that occurred in the span of a few days. A lot has to change before many prospective buyers and sellers take the plunge.

S1 has postponed the shareholder meeting it scheduled to vote on its planned merger with Fundtech. The meeting, originally scheduled for Sept. 22, is now planned for Oct. 13. S1 still faces a hostile bid from ACI Worldwide.

Bank of North Carolina in Thomasville, N.C., announced Thursday that it is buying Regent Bank in Greenville, S.C., for $9.8 million.

Cullen/Frost CEO Dick Evans, whose company dominates its home base of San Antonio, tells American Banker about his strategies for maintaining that market share, dealing with new regulations, and looking for acquisition targets.

Equity Bank in Andover, Kan., is bulking up in its home state with deals to acquire a small bank in Lawrence and four branches in Topeka from a Missouri bank that is exiting the market.