Georgia

The core-tech vendor Fiserv has agreed to buy Online Banking Solutions in Atlanta.

SmartFinancial in Knoxville, Tenn., has agreed to buy a branch in Tennessee from a division of Atlantic Capital Bank in Atlanta.

Some banks are set to get a fourth-quarter earnings boost from their MSR portfolios, thanks to a sudden spike in yields on Treasury bonds. Add to that the prospect of further rate hikes and the potential dismantling of Basel III, and more banks could be encouraged to re-enter the servicing business.

SouthCrest Financial Group in Woodstock, Ga., has agreed to sell its only Alabama branches to Guardian Credit Union in Montgomery, Ala.

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta has agreed to open almost 200 new locations of Operation Hope's financial-counseling centers inside its branches by 2020.

Can banks outdo online lending startups in head-to-head competition? We're about to find out. Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Quicken have all entered the digital lending business, putting early entrants on the defensive.

They are called HENRYs — high earners, not rich yet — and they have the potential to generate lucrative wealth-management and other fees for banks if they could just dial back their spending.

Higher mortgage banking revenue and commercial real estate lending offset merger costs at United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., leading to an improvement in third-quarter profit.

Amid shrinking yields, rising delinquencies and repeated warnings from regulators about frothy market conditions, several banks said on earnings calls that they plan to scale back or hold the line on indirect auto lending.

Profit fell at SunTrust Banks in Atlanta during the third quarter because of higher costs for technology and deposit insurance premiums, as well as an unfavorable yearly comparison.

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta has agreed to buy the multifamily lending business of Pillar Financial in New York.

Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., reported a double-digit increase in profits thanks to an acquisition, organic loan growth and other factors.

Oconee Financial in Watkinsville, Ga., has named a former Atlanta-area banker its new chief executive.

Banks are dumping their mortgage servicing rights because low rates and new rules make it hard to earn a profit. SunTrust, Flagstar and First South Bancorp in North Carolina are taking the opposite view.

Years of branch closures and job cuts are paying off for banks in the form of much-improved efficiency ratios. But with low interest rates still crimping profits, banks remain under pressure to continue reducing expenses.

Colony Bankcorp in Fitzgerald, Ga., has redeemed $3.6 million in perpetual preferred stock associated with the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Plenty of banks have ended their federal loss-share deals early, but despite the incentives to wind them down, plenty more still have these crisis-era arrangements in place. It may be due to varying deadlines, mistakes calculating loan values or worries that they still might need the coverage for home equity lines.

National Commerce in Birmingham, Ala., has agreed to buy Private Bancshares in Atlanta.

The latest lending figures show just how prodigious banks' shift from construction to C&I loans has been since the crisis. Yet a hard look at C&I credits, especially their loss rates, raises questions about whether they are safer.

Another data firm plans to seek regulatory certification as a credit bureau for payday lenders.