New York

Community Bank System Inc. of DeWitt, N.Y., which has been quiet in mergers and acquisitions the past few years, has reverted to form with its most expensive deal to date.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y., said Thursday that its third-quarter earnings quadrupled from a year earlier, to $45.6 million, aided by two Pennsylvania acquisitions.

New York State is instituting new filing requirements to ensure the integrity of the home foreclosure process, the state's chief judge said Wednesday.

Peyton Patterson, the CEO of NewAlliance Bancshares, announced she will leave the company after it is acquired by First Niagara Financial early next year.

Intervest Bancshares Corp. in New York reported a $661,000 net loss for the third quarter, compared with net income of $342,000 a year earlier.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp has agreed to acquire Rome Bancorp for about $74 million in cash and stock, as the Massachusetts bank looks to grow its presence in New York.

Speaking with American Banker, First Niagara CEO John Koelmel offered a conservative outlook on the M&A market, his thoughts on prudent growth and a critique of financial reform.

In the months leading up to its deal with First Niagara Financial Group, NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. entertained an offer from another suitor, while continuing to woo a potential acquisition target.

Carver Bancorp Inc., owner of the nation's largest African- and Caribbean American-run bank, reduced the dividend rate it pays to the government by shifting to another federal program.

Eight months after calling off a deal to buy Royal Asian Bank, Edward Shin, the bank's CEO, is back with a new deal, crediting perseverance and a grassroots approach.

Madison National Bancorp Inc. of Hauppauge, N.Y. swung from a first-quarter net loss to net income of $208,303 in the second quarter.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd. has completed another divestiture — this time of its 51% stake in the $64 million-asset USNY Bank in Geneva, N.Y.

While many banks have watched their earnings erode in recent years, Greater Hudson Bank in Middletown, N.Y., is bucking the trend — it first became profitable last year and has reported its fifth consecutive quarterly profit.

The market is only gelling for buyers and sellers that meet some rather stringent criteria.

Sitting on a pile of cash from an initial public offering six years ago, NewAlliance Bancshares seemed poised to make a big acquisition. So it came as a surprise to many in the banking world Thursday when the company announced that it is being acquired by First Niagara Financial Group for $1.5 billion in a deal that would create one of the top 25 U.S.-based commercial banks.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Buffalo reported a 75% increase in second-quarter net income Thursday.The $20.5 billion-asset company boosted earnings to $20 million, or 10 cents a share, from $11.4 million, or 8 cents a share, in the second quarter of 2009.

Community National Bank in Great Neck, N.Y., announced it has raised $18 million in capital in its secondary common stock offering.

People's United Financial in Bridgeport, Conn., is on a shopping spree up and down the Northeast. The $22 billion-asset company announced late Thursday that it reached agreements to buy Smithtown Bancorp in Hauppauge, N.Y. and LSB Corp. in North Andover, Mass. Both are contiguous to People's United's existing market.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., reported Thursday that second-quarter earnings fell 16% from a year earlier, to $4.8 million.

After a quarter that beat analysts' estimates, First of Long Island Corp. in Glen Head, N.Y., is raising an extra $30 million of capital.