René Jones, CFO of the Buffalo, N.Y., bank, artfully dodged more than a dozen versions of the same question from analysts: when, and if, is M&T's deal to buy Hudson City Bancorp going to get done?

HCBF Holding in Fort Pierce, Fla., has agreed to acquire First America Holding in Bradenton, Fla.

Pinnacle Bancorp in Central City, Neb., has agreed to buy Home State Bank in Louisville, Neb.

Third-quarter earnings at Fidelity Southern in Atlanta increased after it completed a recent acquisition in Florida.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, reported lower third-quarter earnings despite an uptick in revenue. The culprit was its nearly $23 million in special expenses.

Morgan Stanley reported earnings that almost doubled, beating analysts' estimates, on a 9 percent jump in revenue from trading stocks and bonds.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., reported third-quarter earnings of $40.2 million, as increases in interest and fee income were partially offset by heavier expenses.

The $1.1 billion-asset Starion did not disclose the terms of its deal for WPS Community, a federally chartered thrift with $98 million in assets.

AmericanWest is buying Bank of Sacramento for $60 million in cash. Although the deal was being negotiated well before the recent market sell-off, it serves as a good example of the comfort of a fixed cash price.

Acquisitions buoyed third-quarter earnings at Home BancShares in Conway, Ark. The $7.2 billion-asset company reported Thursday that it earned $27.4 million, up roughly 49% from a year earlier.

Profits at Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., rose in the third quarter, on gains from its recent acquisition of Sterling Financial.

Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., will recognize a one-time gain of $16.6 million in third quarter profits, due to the partial reversal of its valuation allowance for deferred tax assets.

AmericanWest Bank in Spokane, Wash., has agreed to buy the $468 million-asset Bank of Sacramento in California for $60 million in cash.

Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., reported a rise in third-quarter profits as net interest income reached a record high and provisions for bad loans fell.

MetaBank in Souix Falls, S.D., has agreed to buy the operations of AFS/IBEX Financial Services, an insurance premium finance company in Dallas.

BB&T was not the first choice for Bank of Kentucky when it negotiating to sell itself. But when two preferred suitors failed to provide revised draft terms to Bank of Kentucky by an Aug. 11 deadline, it opened a window for BB&T.

County and Municipal Employees Credit Union in Edinburg, Texas, has been liquidated by the Texas Credit Union Department.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., has agreed to buy Delavan Bancshares in Wisconsin.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has reached a settlement with former executives at the failed LandMark Bank of Florida.

The third quarter had fewer deals compared to the second quarter, but three fundamental attributes of normalized M&A appeared: bigger players, shorter regulatory approvals times and interest from more buyers.