SCBT Financial in Columbia has agreed to buy First Financial Holdings in Charleston in a deal between South Carolina banks.

Elliott Management, a firm controlled by hedge fund manager Paul Singer, bought roughly 3.8 million shares of National Bank Holdings' stock during the fourth quarter, according to an SEC filing.

For the processor Total System Services (TSS), buying the prepaid card marketer NetSpend (NTSP) is transformational. For NetSpend it's going to be business as usual, the companies say.

Payment processor TSYS (TSS) is bolstering its position in the prepaid card market through big acquisition.

Capital One is backpedaling from one of its two big deals last year, dumping a $7 billion credit card portfolio as it struggles to justify the rest of its investment.

F.N.B. in Pennsylvania announced Tuesday it would acquire PVF Capital, a rehabbed thrift, as a platform for C&I growth in Cleveland.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended February 16.

Southern BancShares has agreed to acquire Heritage BancShares in Lucama, N.C., for cash and stock, the companies announced Friday. The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter.

OneWest Bank, the lender formed out of the remains of failed IndyMac Bancorp, has held informal sales talks in recent weeks with at least two potential buyers, said people familiar with the matter.

Bankers, analysts and investors can no longer simply consider past performance to gauge if banks have enough capital. The what-if forecasting of regulators' stress tests is critical to the exercise.

Citigroup Inc. has entered an agreement to buy the Best Buy private-label card portfolio, which has about $7 billion in loans, from Capital One Financial Corp. Citi has also agreed to issue and manage new Best Buy-branded cards in the U.S.

F.N.B. Corp. (FNB) in Hermitage, Pa., will enter Cleveland after agreeing to buy PVF Capital (PVFC) for roughly $106 million, or $3.98 a share, in stock.

Ally Bank is selling a mortgage business to Walter Investment Management.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has closed the $58.4 million-asset Covenant Bank on Chicago's West Side.

Lorraine Miller, MidSouth Bancorp's director of mergers and acquisitions, has added the role of treasurer, but the company says her new duties are not a signal it would stop hunting for deals.

PremierWest shareholders are scheduled to vote Tuesday on its proposed sale to the holding company of AmericanWest Bank. At 43% of tangible book value, some of them might be reluctant.