Two Midwest community banks plan to close a total of 11 branches and record charges to pay for the shutdowns.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, said it plans to add 1,000 jobs by 2024 at a new office complex in Columbus and lend $300 million to low- and moderate-income communities in the city over the next five years.

Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., has agreed to pay for $79.1 million to buy 16 branches and other offices that it had been leasing.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati will record a gain of $9 million during the fourth quarter after selling shares in the payment processor Vantiv.

More than 41% of banks have bought into hyperconvergence — a blend of integrated server, storage and networking technology that's easily managed by software — and there's no sign of its popularity letting up. PeoplesBank, a community bank in Massachusetts, is one of those that caught the bug.

The pending purchase of Carlile Bancshares will lower Independent's concentration in commercial real estate, while introducing the company to fast-growing markets in Texas and Colorado.

Spanish banking giant Santander has withdrawn from the bank consortium R3 CEV, becoming the second defector from the blockchain group this week after Goldman Sachs.

ACNB Corp. in Gettysburg, Pa., is planning to enter Maryland with its agreement to buy New Windsor Bancorp in Taneytown, Md.

Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, has agreed to buy Carlile Bancshares in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bridge Bancorp in Bridgehampton, N.Y., is looking to raise $50 million by selling common stock.

Distinct business plans in promising areas such as smart use of consumer data, cybersecurity and content creation, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch commercial banking executive Scott Olmsted. And that is just the beginning of his list.

BMO Harris Bank in Chicago has agreed to sell 31 Wisconsin branches to a California real estate investment trust.

A number of states still have a disproportionately high percentage of unbanked and underbanked citizens. Bankers in those states hope that financial education, along with efforts to promote checking accounts and small-dollar loans, will get more people into the banking system.

Pinnacle Financial in Nashville, Tenn., has sold $120 million in subordinated notes and will use the proceeds to retire existing debt and bolster its capital levels.

Politicians clamoring for the largest U.S. institutions to be broken up have failed to consider the prospect of China acquiring a bigger piece of the American banking system.

Montana's biggest bank will have to compete in cities such as Seattle and Portland, Ore., after buying Cascade Bancorp. But the company is arguably more excited about its chances to grow in central Oregon and Idaho, which are more like its existing markets.

Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., has agreed to buy the parent of First South Bank in Jackson, Tenn.

The $9 billion-asset First Interstate said in a press release Thursday that it will pay $589 million, or $7.60 a share, for the $3.2 billion-asset Cascade.

Abington Bank in Massachusetts is planning to merge with Holbrook Co-operative Bank in Massachusetts.

Home BancShares in Conway, Ark., said in a press release Thursday that its bank has been declared the winning bidder for Bank of Commerce in Sarasota, Fla., as part of a bankruptcy auction.