The Federal Reserve approved Capital One's acquisition of ING Direct late Tuesday with few strings attached. The decision had big banks and dealmakers breathing a sigh of relive and consumer advocates steaming.

Raymond James Financial Inc.'s offering of 10.5 million shares, including 1 million shares offered by selling stockholders, priced at a 2% discount to its Tuesday closing price.

Another day, another acquisition for deal-happy Wintrust Financial Corp.

After nine months of consideration, the Fed said the merger of Capital One with ING Direct USA did not pose a systemic threat, but placed conditions on the deal to ensure the combined institution did not become one.

The insurance unit of Encore Bancshares Inc. of Houston has acquired Whittington Insurance Agency in League City, Texas.

Market watchers would have been stunned if regulators blocked Capital One Financial Corp. from buying ING Direct USA. The Federal Reserve Board did give its green light late Tuesday afternoon, but its delays in reaching the decision underscored the political obstacles facing big merger deals in the postcrisis era.

A unit of SI Financial Group Inc. in Willimantic, Conn., is selling its trust operations outsourcing business to an Atlanta wealth management company.

Thomas Storrs, who led a Bank of America predecessor for nearly a decade, died last week. In an interview, Hugh McColl recalls his mentor's ability to think strategically and his determination to make interstate banking a reality.

Investors would be interested in buying Emigrant's 32 New York branches if the price is right and a deal can be done soon, Investors CEO Cummings says, according to a report.

The emergence of several new prepaid debit card programs and growing national distribution of major prepaid card brands is helping to generate marketplace interest in buying and selling prepaid card portfolios.

Just how hungry is Ocwen Financial Corp. for servicing rights? In a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission the nonbank servicer discloses that it is currently reviewing $300 billion of MSRs for purchase.

ACI Worldwide reported on Tuesday that income for the fourth-quarter was $23.9 million, down 11.8% from a year earlier, as revenue declined.

Memorial services were held in Charlotte Monday for Thomas Storrs, the former chairman and chief executive of North Carolina National Bank who laid the groundwork for today's Bank of America Corp.

Breakdown of M&A announcements for latest week

Senior Fed officials met Monday in a closed session on Capital One Financial Corp.'s pending acquisition of the U.S. online banking unit of ING Group but did not make a decision. It had delayed a meeting on the deal last week.

Fidelity National Information Services said Monday that its fourth-quarter income, boosted by its international and financial solutions businesses, rose 5.8% to $117 million from the same period a year earlier.