A former chairman of the failed Premier Bank in Wilmette, Ill., has been charged with fraud in what prosecutors say is the first criminal case tied to the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Some high-priced takeover deals in the corporate world have stifled general M&A activity, leaving players in the leveraged-loan market to wonder what will sustain demand for issuances the rest of the year.

Zions Bancorp. (ZION) in Salt Lake City plans to issue as much as $195 million in debt through its online broker-dealer subsidiary.

The bank wants to make acquisitions in central Florida, but CEO Michael Micallef keeps hitting snags with loan books, cultural fit and deal structure.

Allegiance Bancshares has agreed to buy the $220 million-asset Independence Bank. Both are in Houston.

Debt buyer Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (AACC), acquired in June by rival Encore Capital Group Inc. for $200 million, will lay off 110 people to eliminate redundant jobs.

Baylake (BYLK) in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has agreed to sell $26 million in deposits from two branches to 1st National Bank of Berlin in Wisconsin.

With the market starting to value banks on their earnings rather than their book values, buyers are looking for deals that will prop up their bottom lines over the long term and are willing to pay more.

Blue Hills Bank in Boston is buying a New England franchise from Sovereign Bank.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Aug. 3.

SunTrust Banks (STI) in Atlanta has committed $5 billion to funding commercial mortgages originated by MetLife (MET).

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The Treasury Department plans to sell shares in five community banks for a discount of approximately 60%.

KeyCorp (KEY) has sold its asset management and broker-dealer businesses for more than $50 million less than originally anticipated.

Improved loan quality is allowing banks to reduce provisions, but industry experts believe that option may soon be tapped out.

Thoma Bravo announced Thursday that it's completed the acquisition of Intuit's financial services division in a deal valued at more than $1 billion.

Pacific Trust Bank in Los Angeles has exercised its option to buy CS Financial in Beverly Hills, the bank said in a regulatory filing. Jeffrey Seabold, the managing director of Pacific Trust's residential lending division, is a majority owner of CS.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer, this week reported second quarter financial results that included jumps in revenue, net income and cash collections.

SouthCrest Financial (SCSG) in Peachtree City, Ga., has raised nearly $18 million from a group led by Castle Creek Capital.

Maria Mitchell, a 19th century U.S. astronomer with historic ties to Pacific National Bank of Nantucket, was commemorated with a special doodle on google.com Thursday.