Provident New York scouted other potential targets in the New York City region besides Sterling, but too many of them still think they can survive as independents, CEO Jack Kopnisky says.

Municipal Employees Credit Union in Baltimore has agreed to buy Advance Bank.

Capitol Bancorp's (CBCRQ) deal to sell a struggling New Mexico subsidiary has fallen through.

Many regional banks are too small to face the most onerous capital requirements yet big enough to grapple with the growing mountain of regulations. That, and some deft positioning, has left the group more profitable than its larger and smaller brethren alike. American Banker editors discuss the success of the regionals and the challenges they face.

HopFed Bancorp in Hopkinsville, Ky., has drawn the ire of activist investor Joseph Stilwell over its recent agreement to buy another bank.

The $3.8 billion-asset Provident said Thursday it would pay $344 million in stock for Sterling, or about 1.3 shares of Provident stock for each Sterling share.

Atlantic Coast Financial in Jacksonville expected disgruntled shareholder Jay Sidhu to blast its deal to sell itself to Bond Street Holdings — and he came through.

Shareholders will vote on a proposal to rename it CommunityOne Bancorp at their annual meeting on June 20, FNB United said Wednesday. Its board has already approved the change.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares (NHTB) in Newport has agreed to buy Central Financial Corp. (CEVT) in Randolph, Vt.

Shares of Independent Bank Group (IBTX) in McKinney, Texas, rose nearly 13% during their first day of trading.

Toronto-Dominion will promote U.S. head Bharat Masrani to CEO once Ed Clark retires in late 2014. Organic growth and selective M&A — especially in the U.S. — will remain priorities during the lengthy transition period, the executives of the Canadian company said.

Ocwen Financial (OCN) has completed its purchase of the reverse mortgage lender Liberty Home Equity Solutions from Genworth Financial (GNW).

Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (PMBC) has completed a deal that should help the Costa Mesa, Calif., company in an effort to shed troubled loans.

Bharat Masrani, 56, who currently serves as chief executive of its U.S. banking unit, will succeed Ed Clark, 67, as CEO of the parent company when Clark steps down from the post next year, Toronto-Dominion said Wednesday.

TriState Capital Holdings in Pittsburgh has filed to hold an initial public offering.

Bank deal-making faces a new hurdle as a small group of attorneys challenges a large number of buyout offers. For the lawyers, even dubious challenges can result in big paydays. For potential acquirers, the added costs and hassles are another hurdle on the way to reinvigorating the still-struggling bank M&A market.

First Mariner Bancorp (FMAR) in Baltimore has revised downward its earnings for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012.

BancVue in Austin, Texas, has acquired a business to expand its leasing capabilities.

Industry observers are hopeful that CEOs will use quarterly conference calls to outline plans to aggressively unload bad assets in coming months.

CorTrust Bank in Mitchell, S.D., recently bought a bank near Minneapolis and plans to do more deals there. It, like a lot of community banks, is trying to expand into new markets without repeating the precrisis mistakes that doomed many of its peers.