Ohio

First Niagara Financial Group in Buffalo, N.Y., considered offers from four potential acquirers before deciding in late October to sell itself to KeyCorp.

MainSource Financial Group in Greensburg, Ind., has agreed to buy Cheviot Financial in Cincinnati.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati has invested Zipscene, a firm that specializes in consumer analytics for the restaurant industry.

Peoples Bancorp in Marietta, Ohio, has hired John C. Rogers as its chief financial officer and treasurer. He starts Nov. 30.

Heartland BancCorp in Gahanna, Ohio, has raised $5.4 million in a private placement.

The New York company took investors on a roller coaster ride over a dozen years, with issues that included a CEO's death, another leader's ambitious M&A strategy, and an ill-timed effort to upgrade outdated technology.

KeyCorp, Ohio's second-largest bank, has agreed to buy First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in a $4.1 billion cash-and-stock deal that extends the company's reach in upstate New York.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati reported a higher third-quarter profit, although the restructuring of a commercial credit cut into the results.

KeyCorp in Cleveland posted higher third-quarter profits as revenue soared on growth in fee income from its investment banking business.

Middlefield Banc Corp. in Middlefield, Ohio, has bought out its largest shareholder.

Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to pay nearly $85 million to settle fraud charges related to undisclosed defective Federal Housing Administration-insured loans.

Great Southern Bancorp in Springfield, Mo., has agreed to buy 12 branches around St. Louis from Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati.

Alliance Data Systems has agreed to work with Toyota on a new line of private-label credit cards and to manage the Japanese automaker's existing co-branded card program.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to sell about $1.1 billion of money market fund assets to Federated Investors in Pittsburgh.

Fifth Third Bancorp has promoted Teresa Tanner to chief administrative officer, the latest change in executive management at the Cincinnati company.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati has tapped a new chief strategy officer to replace Dan Poston, who will leave the bank to join the payment processor Vantiv.

First National Bank in Howell, Mich., has named a former Midwestern bank executive to its board.

DCB Financial has agreed to sell its headquarters in Lewis Center, Ohio, for $8.2 million.

F.N.B. in Pittsburgh has agreed to acquire 17 branches in the Pittsburgh area from Fifth Third Bancorp.

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.