United Security Bancshares in Thomasville, Ala., has agreed to buy a three-acre parcel near Birmingham, Ala., for a new executive office and retail branch.

Ray Grace, North Carolina's banking commissioner, believes federal bank regulators should embrace charters for banks dedicated to innovation. Doing so, he said, would help the banking industry secure its spot as a "laboratory for change."

Midland Financial in Oklahoma City has agreed to buy 1st Century Bancshares in Los Angeles.

Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., has agreed to buy LaPorte Bancorp in LaPorte, Ind.

Huntington Bancshares plans to close more than 100 branches in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin after it completes its acquisition of FirstMerit.

The Cleveland company appointed Christopher Gorman as merger integration executive, according to a news release. Gorman previously was president of KeyCorp's corporate bank.

Norwood Financial in Honesdale, Pa., has agreed to buy Delaware Bancshares in Walton, N.Y.

EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., plans to raise $90 million through a public offering of subordinated debt.

That is the message from North Carolina's banking commissioner and others who think the odds of preventing the rule are so low, and the amount of preparation needed to comply so great, that bankers should get real.

Not only are widening credit spreads for both banks and the companies they lend to a red flag, but the financial sector is also feeling a hit from lower energy prices.

A mature governance framework and risk culture that reaches all employees are among the attributes of a high-functioning "risk organization."

Banks reassess the borrowing capacity of oil exploration and production companies twice a year. The spring round of energy loan redeterminations is scheduled to begin in April. Will banks successfully use this process to de-risk?

Peoples Bancorp in Marietta, Ohio, has obtained a $15 million credit line and has paid off an earlier loan.

Regulators want to know how banks are planning for the future, particularly in the face of competitive threats such as marketplace lending and added scrutiny over the use of third-party vendors.

Investors have punished most energy lenders since oil prices began sliding more than a year ago. Despite a recent rally, stocks of publicly traded banks with at least 3.5% of loans tied to the energy sector have fallen by 18% since early 2015. The KBW Nasdaq bank index is down 13% over that time. Here is a look at the worst-performing energy lenders in the past year and one exception to the rule.

Their top executives sure don't. Income streams are constrained in every business line, the economic picture remains murky, and big banks are talking about cutting more expenses again.

Green Bancorp Chief Executive Geoff Greenwade, eager to tamp down speculation of a potential sale, stressed during a conference presentation that the Houston company plans to remain independent.

Changes to mortgage disclosures rules implemented in October continue to frustrate community bankers and is just another example of the struggle to stay independent.

The pace of bank mergers and acquisitions has slowed of late as bank stock values have plummeted, but expect it to pick up as 2016 wears on. Here's why.

BBCN Bancorp withstood numerous overtures from Hanmi Financial — and a revolt by four of its own directors — as it negotiated a deal to buy Wilshire Bancorp. A new filing discloses just how intense those pressures were.