The 28-year-old Young Americans Bank was founded to teach kids to save, but now the bank is focused on showing its customers how to spend wisely. CEO Richard Martinez says tots still prefer paper statements, while tweens are getting their allowance via bill pay.

As part of its proposed sale to Royal Bank of Canada, City National has made a big Community Reinvestment Act commitment, which includes targeting small-business loans at the minority- and women-owned suppliers of three power companies.

Eastern Bank is considering a plan that would boost its biggest donations from $50,000 to seven-figure sums. While the plan could shrink the total number of grants given, it should also allow the organization to have more influence in certain areas.

Liberty Bank in Middletown, Conn., has agreed to buy Naugatuck Valley Financial in Naugatuck, Conn.

General Electric has put virtually all of its U.S. commercial loan businesses on the market after hiring banks to unload $20 billion of assets in its health-care, railcar and franchise finance divisions, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

BB&T has received regulatory approval for its acquisition of Bank of Kentucky Financial, with the Federal Reserve providing a blueprint for approvals of future deals.

Blue Valley Ban Corp. in Overland Park, Kan., has agreed to acquire a branch in its hometown owned by The Federal Savings Bank in Chicago.

WSFS Bank has teamed up with ZenBanx, a fintech startup founded by a pioneer of direct banking, Arkadi Kuhlmann. WSFS will be the first in the U.S. to power a mobile account that lets users park money in up to five currencies and send remittances. The partnership is the latest example of a traditional bank trying to inject innovation into its culture.

An investment bank cautioned Bank of the Ozarks that its target, Bank of the Carolinas, was in talks with another suitor and "did not wish to jeopardize that transaction," a filing disclosed. The Arkansas acquirer pushed on and ended up walking away with the deal less than two months later.

Bay Banks of Virginia in Kilmarnock has issued $7 million in subordinated debt.

World Acceptance in Greenville, S.C., one of the largest providers of installment loans, said that its longtime chairman and chief executive will retire in September.

Washington Trust Bancorp in Westerly, R.I., has agreed to buy Halsey Associates, an investment advisory firm in New Haven, Conn.

Deals are still getting done in California, even though water issues continue to plague the state's economy. Still, buyers are finding themselves conducting more extensive due diligence to vet the markets and loan concentrations of targets.

More lenders of all types are taking an interest in factoring, or buying a company's receivables, as they fight for commercial clients. But the business is forbidding for new entrants: it's dominated by a handful of large companies, with intense competition from smaller nonbanks, and is closely tied to the volatile retail-sales market.

The Salt Lake City company is targeting an efficiency ratio more in line with other regional banks by closing branches and finding ways to boost revenue. Zions hopes its efforts will reduce annual pretax expenses by $120 million by 2017.

First Resource Bank in Exton, Pa., plans to raise $6 million through a combination of common stock and subordinated debt to raise funds to redeem most of its Small Business Lending Fund preferred shares.

City National Bank in Los Angeles will provide $350 million in loans to minority- and women-owned small businesses as part of a community lending initiative, it announced Monday.

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City will consolidate its seven bank charters into one and create the position of chief banking officer to cut costs and improve returns.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended May 30.

The $3.2 billion-asset company issued the notes, due 2030, on Friday on behalf of its Fidelity Bank subsidiary.