Private-equity firms, as investor-driven organizations, have an obligation to consider cashing out when top-performing bank stocks are doing well, according to James Lockhart, vice chairman and W.L. Ross & Co.

Wilmington Trust Co., a unit of M&T Bank Corp. (MTB), agreed to pay $18.5 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims that the bank failed to report construction loans that weren't being repaid.

Brookline Bancorp in Boston plans to raise $75 million by issuing debt.

Auto loans are in the midst of a U.S. boom that is coming to "the end of the road," according to Pierre Lapointe, head of global strategy and research at Pavilion Global Markets.

First Citizens Banc in Sandusky, Ohio, has agreed to buy TCNB Financial in Dayton, Ohio.

Cape Bancorp in Cape May Courthouse, N.J., has agreed to buy Colonial Financial Services in Vineland, N.J.

First Business Financial Services in Madison, Wis., has appointed David Papritz as chief financial officer and senior vice president of corporate development.

Poage Bankshares in Ashland, Ky., has agreed to acquire Commonwealth Bank in Mount Sterling, Ky.

Modest bank asset growth is a reality. That needn't be a bad thing for bank stock prices, but operating strategies that try to fight it might be.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Sept. 6.

Big banks are still avoiding bank M&A, but the reasons are evolving. Plenty are still looking inward, while others are focusing on buying fee businesses. U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis says he doesn't want to be burdened with an integration when the economy takes off.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is receptive to the idea of Federal Home Loan Bank mergers, according to the agency's director.

After several years of setbacks, the idea of faster payments in the United States finally has genuine momentum.

BB&T is back the business of buying banks for the first time in several years, even though most of its peers think regulators are opposed to big-bank M&A. BB&T's investments in compliance improvements make its executives feel confident about getting new deals done, CEO Kelly King says.

BB&T has agreed to buy the Bank of Kentucky for $363 million in cash and stock. The acquisition would allow the $188 billion-asset BB&T to expand in the northern Kentucky and Cincinnati region, where the $1.9 billion-asset Bank of Kentucky operates 32 branches.

The Iowa Credit Union Division has placed Louden Depot Community Credit Union in Fairfield, Iowa, into receivership.

National Penn Bancshares in Allentown, Pa., plans to raise $100 million through a debt offering.

Citizens Financial Group, a U.S. subsidiary of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, is seeking a valuation of as much as $14 billion as it enters the final stages of an initial public offering.

The $2.5 billion-asset QCR said in a press release Friday that the new company will include the mortgage staff from its Quad City Bank & Trust.

Banc of California has announced extensive community reinvestment goals as part of its planned purchase of 20 Banco Popular branches in Southern California. The agreement, which appeased a community group that had opposed the sale, shows how much power such organizations wield when it comes to M&A.