The intense focus on sales cultures can be frustrating, but it also presents an opportunity for everyone within a bank to get on the same page about what the institution stands for and is trying to accomplish.

Bay Banks of Virginia in Kilmarnock has agreed to buy Virginia BanCorp in Petersburg.

The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without mandated paid parental leave, but innovative leave policies are an opportunity to attract and retain employees in a highly competitive industry.

Heartland Financial in Dubuque, Iowa, is looking to raise $53.5 million through a public offering.

Consumer compliance was already an important issue for regulators who vet bank deals, but it is expected to move up on their priority list after Wells' phony-account saga. Banks that seek M&A approvals should make sure their cross-sale and incentives policies — along with those of their targets — are bulletproof.

Visa closed its acquisition of Visa Europe in late June, ending a year of negotiations and years of speculation in the payments industry.

Some former customers of First Niagara Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., which was bought by KeyCorp last month, will receive up to $22 million in refunds of overdraft and bounced-check fees, according to a recently disclosed regulatory order.

BNC Bancorp in High Point, N.C., has rebranded its banking unit to reflect its expansion beyond the Tarheel State. The $7.5 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that Bank of North Carolina is now BNC Bank.

Square 1 Bank, a unit of PacWest Bancorp, has hired two financial services veterans to expand its banking services for venture capital and private-equity firms and named a new leader of that practice.

A small New Jersey bank that is a so-called rent-a-charter partner of more than a dozen marketplace lenders has raised millions of dollars from some household names in the venture capital world.

As more departments reach for a piece of the technology budget, banks need to improve coordination to make sure the money is spent efficiently.

Heartland Financial in Dubuque, Iowa, has agreed to buy Founders Bancorp in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

As banks grow and their business models become more complex, some find that adding a general counsel to the staff makes sense. Bank SNB in Stillwater, Okla., says hiring one allowed it to reduce its legal fees by 80%. Here are the pros and cons.

The Bancorp's stock fell nearly 15% Friday after the Wilmington, Del., company reported a large quarterly loss tied to a bad commercial real estate loan.

The Cincinnati bank is looking to middle-market lending in the Charlotte area to fuel future expansion, CEO Greg Carmichael says. The timing may be right, given disruption from M&A, as well as the Wells Fargo scandal fallout.

The $11.2 billion-asset Banc of California said in a press release Friday that it sold the division the $4.4 billion-asset Hanmi. The companies did not disclose the price.

Back in the black and looking increasingly healthy for the first time in a decade, First Mariner is poised to accelerate growth next year.

A unit of First Horizon National in Memphis, Tenn., has agreed to buy Coastal Securities, a Houston firm that trades, securitizes and analyzes Small Business Administration loans.

The group, known as First Boston Holdings, also plans to raise $100 million. The group said Admirals will be renamed Bank & Trust Company of Boston.

A recent federal court decision affirming the right of a servicer to collect on private student loans originated on Sallie Mae's behalf is good news for several parties, including marketplace lenders and others that partner with banks to make loans.