Georgia

The Georgia company is ready to return to buying banks, but it isn’t looking for a game changer. Rather, management wants to ease into consolidation by acquiring a smaller institution.

Renasant in Tupelo, Miss., has agreed to buy KeyWorth Bank in Johns Creek, Ga.

Synovus Financial in Columbus, Ga., reported higher quarterly earnings that reflected an increase in fee income and cost control.

Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., is set to catapult over $10 billion in assets after agreeing to buy Community & Southern Holdings in Atlanta.

Acquisitions would seem to be a logical course of action for regional banks struggling to cut costs and boost revenues in the low interest rate environment, but some bank chief executives are less open to the idea than others as comments by the heads of First Horizon and SunTrust demonstrate.

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta reported a lower third-quarter profit, citing negative effects from the low interest rate environment.

IDology, an Atlanta provider of fraud-prevention and identity verification, has made an equity investment in the mobile identity authentication provider Payfone.

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., has agreed to buy a portfolio of health care loans from United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga.

Kabbage is one of many nonbank lenders looking to partner with traditional financial institutions. But the firm is facing a tough sell with bankers who worry about the risks associated with ceding control of the loan-underwriting process.

A bank failure in Georgia and then another in Washington state late Friday were estimated to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. nearly $25 million.

Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., has agreed to buy Jacksonville Bancorp in Florida.

Get a bunch of community bankers together and they start sharing efficiency ratios like golf scores. There seem to be more bogeys than holes in one these days in the course of cost-cutting.

Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., plans to close 10 branches in an effort to save about $5 million a year in operating costs.

Webster Financial in Waterbury, Conn., has opened an Atlanta office to focus on asset-based lending in the southeastern U.S.

Atlantic Capital Bancshares in Atlanta plans to issue $50 million in subordinated debt to finance its acquisition of First Security Group in Tennessee.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta has reduced its workforce by consolidating several company departments, as it pivots away from failed-bank loss-share agreements and looks to acquire healthy banks.

Two community banks — Community Bankers Trust in Richmond, Va., and Charter Financial in West Point, Ga. — have reached early terminations of loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Banks are seeing steady growth in consumer loan demand nationwide, particularly in auto loans and mortgages, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Board.

Foothills Community Bank in Dawsonville, Ga., has named John Lewis interim chief executive.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has filed a shelf registration for senior notes to help pay for its acquisition of a South Carolina bank.