The Charlotte, N.C., bank offers a model for other community banks that have expanded quickly in recent years but face a pricier M&A market: focus on smaller deals that provide additional liquidity and plug geographic holes.

Four private-equity investors have sold their remaining stakes in BankUnited (BKU) in Miami Lakes, Fla., for almost $393 million.

Joseph Stilwell said in recent regulatory filings that he wants Fairmount Bancorp in Baltimore and Harvard Illinois Bancorp to find buyers. He also filed a document backing Jefferson Bancshares' planned sale to HomeTrust.

Service members, veterans and their families who filed complaints about financial products or services have recovered more than $1 million, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced.

William Rogers, chief executive officer of SunTrust Banks Inc., was awarded $5.78 million for his work last year, 32% less than for 2012.

Fannie Mae researchers attribute the sharp turn in perceptions to winter blues.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could return $179.2 billion in profits to taxpayers over the next 10 years if they continue operating under federal conservatorship, according to White House budget analysts.

A former managing director at the New York investment banking firm Jefferies and Co, has been convicted of multiple offenses involving a scheme to defraud customers trading in residential mortgage-backed securities.

NCO Financial Systems, a collection agency arm of Horsham, Pa.-based NCO Group, plans to lay off 107 workers at its Virginia Beach, Va. call center, according to a notice filed with the Virginia Employment Commission.

AIG's United Guaranty Corp. has again elected to go off on its own and will not join the new trade group being formed by the other private mortgage insurers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a formal notice that it will mail surveys to consumers to learn about their experiences with debt collectors. Specifically, the survey will ask whether consumers have been contacted by collectors and whether they recognized the debt being collected.

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Zaio Corp. (ZAO), a Canadian company that tracks property values in the U.S., is in talks to acquire Axis Appraisal Management Solutions in San Rafael, Calif.

BOK Financial Corp. (BOKF) in Tulsa, Okla., has agreed to buy MBM Advisors, a wealth management firm based in Houston.

The rising generation of young Americans not only have little loyalty to banks, according to a three-year survey of 10,000 people born between 1981 and 2000 — many also believe that traditional financial institutions are on their way to irrelevance.

Taking their cues from popular consumer brands and digital upstarts, financial institutions are modernizing their websites, ATMs, and mobile apps in hopes of creating a better digital banking experience and, ultimately, attracting and retaining more customers.

Record profits at agriculture-focused rural banks could be coming to an end. Farm revenue is expected to decline sharply this year, and ag lenders are watching warily to see if this is a one-year blip or the start of a downturn.

A spike in consolidation is expected to provide growth-minded banks with more opportunities to lure executives and commercial lenders.

OTC Markets Group, an operator of financial marketplaces for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, is preparing to launch a public trading marketplace for community and regional banks, according to a company release.

A 64-year-old physicist, identified by Newsweek magazine as Bitcoin's creator, was chased by reporters through Los Angeles and denied any role in the digital currency, saying he first heard of it three weeks ago.