Community & Southern Holdings in Atlanta used private equity to buy 14 banks over six years. The time had come to become a seller and give those investors an opportunity to eventually cash out.

Washington Federal in Seattle reported higher profit in its fiscal fourth quarter, citing a record level of commercial loan originations.

OnDeck Capital, Lending Club, Funding Circle and Kabbage in the last week have all announced moves designed to boost their loan volumes.

The Georgia company is ready to return to buying banks, but it isn’t looking for a game changer. Rather, management wants to ease into consolidation by acquiring a smaller institution.

First Partners Bank in Birmingham, Ala., and Highlands Bancorp in Vernon, N.J., have both issued subordinated debt, as part of their plans to exit the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Regal Bank in Livingston, N.J., isn’t letting its privately held status deter it from pursuing acquisitions.

Profits fell at New York Community Bancorp in Westbury, N.Y., as it continued to manage its balance sheet to stay below a key regulatory threshold.

Southern BancShares in Mount Olive, N.C., has agreed to buy Heritage Bankshares in Norfolk, Va.

Renasant in Tupelo, Miss., has agreed to buy KeyWorth Bank in Johns Creek, Ga.

Synovus Financial in Columbus, Ga., reported higher quarterly earnings that reflected an increase in fee income and cost control.

Regal Bank in Livingston, N.J., has agreed to buy Community First Bank in Somerset, N.J.

Revere Bank in Laurel, Md., has agreed to buy BlueRidge Bank in Frederick, Md.

General Electric is trying to entice its shareholders to exchange their stock for shares in Synchrony Financial, the spun-off credit card lender.

Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., is set to catapult over $10 billion in assets after agreeing to buy Community & Southern Holdings in Atlanta.

Merger-related expenses took a nearly $6 million bite out of third-quarter earnings at Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., but its chief executive predicted several recently completed deals will pay off sooner than anticipated.

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City posted stronger third-quarter earnings from lower costs and higher fee income. The $58.4 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that its earnings rose 6% from a year earlier, to $84.2 million, or 41 cents a share.

In buying Germany's Wincor Nixdorf, Diebold would not only be eliminating a rival — it would also gain new technology and retail relationships vital to its success in an economy that is growing much less reliant on plastic cards.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended October 17.

Community banks, frustrated that online and email marketing often gets overlooked, are trying to get people to engage with local businesses in hopes of landing more clients.

Diebold Inc. offered 1.57 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in cash and stock to acquire its German rival, Wincor Nixdorf AG, in a bid to create the biggest maker of cash machines and security systems with about $6 billion in sales.