Bank of America will post a $600 million pretax writedown in the fourth quarter as it redeems $2 billion of trust preferred securities tied to its 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

New York Community Bancorp in Westbury has finished the balance sheet repositioning it previewed as part of its agreement to buy Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y.

Calumet Bancorp. in Chilton, Wis., has agreed to buy Calumet Bancshares in Brillion, Wis.

Talmer Bancorp in Troy, Mich., will record a nearly $14 million charge in the fourth quarter tied to ending its loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Some lost their jobs while others made major missteps or faced serious challenges to their business plans. Here are the folks who had a rough 2015 and are looking forward to better times in 2016.

CalWest Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., has raised $14 million through a private offering to recapitalize and to retire its Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.

Ken Karels has guided the South Dakota company through an initial public offering and its first acquisition in three years. He is worth watching next year as ag lending comes under pressure and as Great Western continues hunting for acquisitions.

Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., plans to raise $30 million in an aggregate offering of its common stock.

BB&T Corp. in Winston-Salem, N.C., has received approval from the Federal Reserve Board to buy National Penn Bancshares in Allentown, Pa.

BofI Holding's CEO Greg Garrabrants should be basking in the glow of his bank's record earnings growth and its potentially transformative acquisition of H&R Block Bank. Instead, he's fighting to regain the confidence of shareholders spooked by allegations that the online bank violated anti-money-laundering laws.

BNP Paribas is considering selling or spinning off one of its two U.S. banking subsidiaries as it aims to boost capital.

The $1 billion-asset holding company for Veritex Community Bank redeemed about $8 million worth of SBLF shares.

The Federal Reserve extended the public comment period for KeyCorp's proposed $4.1 billion takeover of First Niagara Financial Group until Jan. 31, after a lawmaker said communities affected by the deal need to weigh in.

Synovus Financial in Columbus, Ga., has offered to acquire up to $100 million of its outstanding subordinated debt.

Middleburg Financial in Middleburg, Va., plans to record a $3 million impairment charge tied to a participation loan in which the borrower has been accused of fraud.

Citizens & Northern in Wellsboro, Pa., has paid off a $24 million repurchase agreement and will record a loss on the prepayment.

Birmingham Bloomfield Bancshares in Birmingham, Mich., has redeemed its shares in the Small Business Lending Fund and exited the program.

BankMobile attracted 100,000 users in its first year and with the acquisition of a couple of business lines from collegiate servicer Higher One it is projecting it will have 2 million by July.

American Banker predicted these five community bankers would make news in 2015, and they did not disappoint. Some pursued M&A, one went public, and one even helped break up his bank.

Directors at credit unions used to work for free, but that is starting to change — and it's rankling banking industry officials who say it's another example of the nonprofit cooperatives mimicking banks without shouldering the same tax burden.