Longtime CEO William Cooper tells analysts that he is as optimistic as ever about his company's growth prospects following its reinvention.

The Westbury, N.Y., bank has sought a large deal to vault well over the $50 billion-asset threshold. But with no transformational deal in sight, it is now willing to pass that asset milestone through a small acquisition or organic growth.

Four shareholders of BankUnited (BKU) in Miami Lakes, Fla., plan to sell up to $291 million of common stock.

Iberiabank Corp. (IBKC) of Lafayette, La., reported higher quarterly earnings due to improved credit quality.

Hudson City Bancorp, the target of the biggest pending bank takeover in the U.S., said it's planning to reduce interest rate risks and that the effort will produce an unspecified loss.

National Penn Bancshares (NPBC) in Boyertown, Pa., has bought back about $75.4 million of shares from the private-equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Bankers feel more optimistic about their business as crisis memories fade, and more open-minded about M&A as deal prices rise, but concerns about compliance challenges and regulators' tough reviews of merger applications are keeping their enthusiasm in check.

Banks and other companies headquartered abroad have been busy buying and selling financial firms in the United States recently. Here's a look at M&A activity lately that's had a distinctly international flavor.

Southern First Bancshares (SFST) in Greenville, S.C., used a private placement to convert preferred stock tied to the Troubled Asset Relief Program into common stock.

The Los Angeles company had to negotiate with the government, private equity, nonprofits and other banks to recapitalize its bank.

NBT Bancorp (NBTB) in Norwich, N.Y., reported fourth-quarter net income of $17.9 million, a 37% increase from a year earlier.

FirstMerit (FMER) in Akron, Ohio, announced a substantial increase in net income because of its April purchase of Citizens Republic Bancorp in Flint, Mich.

Institutions with solid, but underperforming assets and lagging stock price valuation multiples are vulnerable to activist investors. Address problems before they are attracted to your bank.

The global M&A market in 2013 was solid across all sectors, according to a report by advisory firm Greenberg Advisors.

The $300 million merger will create the state's biggest community bank -- and could convince other institutions to pursue similar deals.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Jan. 25.

Bank of Montreal is in talks to buy F&C Asset Management Plc, manager of the oldest U.K. investment fund, for about 697 million pounds ($1.2 billion) in what would be the second-largest takeover in its 196-year history.

A number of community banks have removed CEOs, announced plans to sell or reached compromises with dissident shareholders in recent weeks. And proxy season has yet to hit its stride.