Hackers with Wall Street expertise have stolen merger-and-acquisition information from more than 80 companies for more than a year, according to security consultants who shared their findings with law enforcement.

The investment banking firm Sterne Agee & Leach recently studied 16 bank mergers that involve sellers with market capitalizations of $100 million to $5 billion. The sellers share a number of characteristics in common. Here are seven important ones.

Stilwell Group has terminated a standstill agreement reached with Malvern Bancorp in Paoli, Pa., saying it was no longer necessary after meeting with Malvern's new CEO, Anthony Weagley.

A recent report from Sterne Agee included a list of banks with similar traits to sellers in pending deals. Such traits, including aging CEOs and substandard returns, could portend future sellers.

BNC Bancorp in High Point, N.C., and CU Bancorp in Encino, Calif., have completed two previously announced acquisitions.

The Freedom Bank of Virginia has extended the deadline for its $4 million stock offering in response to investors' requests for more time.

Summit Community Bank in Moorefield, W.Va., said Wednesday that it has shed an enforcement action and completed the first portion of its private placement with Castle Creek Capital Partners.

The growing influence of two directors known for seeking big changes at other banks has raised questions about whether Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut may be put up for sale.

First Foundation Bank in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy Pacific Rim Bank in Honolulu.

With new bank chartering at a standstill, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has issued new guidance on de novo capital requirements and other issues in part to "demystify the application process."

MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City has agreed to buy Central Bancshares in Golden Valley, Minn.

MUFG Union Bank will close 20 branches of the former Frontier Bank in Washington state.

The acquisition of CapitalSource has pushed PacWest's capital from full to overflowing. With diminished interest in M&A, the Los Angeles company recently doubled its dividend, while analysts expect management to award a special payout in the future.

Fraternity Community Bancorp in Baltimore has agreed to add a director recommended by activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

Several banks have been aggressively adding assets since the financial crisis. SNL Financial's list of publicly traded banks with the greatest asset growth since mid-2009 includes many investment vehicles formed after the downturn to buy banks. Several of those banks have gone public this year.

A government tool for unloading failed bank assets and minimizing FDIC losses may be used as a vehicle to publicly subsidize private gains in the proposed merger between CIT Group and OneWest Bank.

Hudson Valley Holding in Yonkers, N.Y., has agreed to sell A.R. Schmeidler & Co., an investment adviser unit, to Pine Street Asset Management.

Pacific Continental in Eugene, Ore., has agreed to buy Capital Pacific Bancorp in Portland, Ore.

First Savings Bank of Perkasie in Perkasie, Pa., has agreed to merge with First Federal of Bucks County in Bristol, Pa.

First National Corp. in Strasburg, Va., has agreed to buy six branches in Virginia from Bank of America.