Growth strategies

The Denver company, which has branches in El Paso, will gain more locations in cities such as Dallas and Austin with the pending purchase.

Both credit unions are based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

National Australia Bank and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, the country’s third- and fourth-largest lenders by value, are in talks with Citigroup over the assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Arkansas company will gain branches around Nashville as part of the acquisition.

The company agreed to pay $104 million for a one-branch bank with $391 million of assets.

Lenders including Howard Bancorp and First Carolina Bank are shunning acquisitions as a route into new markets, to avoid overpaying for targets and inheriting potential loan problems.

The company, once known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, plans to launch the as-yet-unnamed platform by the end of this year.

The purchases of Truck Insurance Specialists and Hometown Insurance are expected to help the company expand its dealings in transportation and agriculture.

The company will start to offer insurance planning and risk management services as part of its purchase of Strategic Wealth Group in Valdosta, Ga.

The company’s retail banking and auto-lending businesses in the U.S. generated a larger share of overall profits in the first quarter, and Executive Chairman Ana Botín and other executives unveiled expansion plans for both units.