After several years of bank merger activity trending down, there are signs that the activity level may revive. As this subject may not have been a front burner topic for bankers in recent years, it is useful to consider how changes in the last few years have altered certain strategic priorities for considering mergers.

Sun Bancorp Inc. in Vineland, N.J., said Tuesday that it has added two seasoned executives to help grow its middle-market and commercial real estate loan portfolios.

Most executives in the prepaid debit card market agree any future federal regulations that demand better disclosures on products are good for the industry. But if the government starts messing with fee structures, it could lead issuers to leave the market altogether.

SCBT's planned acquisition of Peoples Bancorp. in South Carolina is being described as small, safe and strategic. Analysts believe most M&A next year will follow a similar blueprint.

The future of institutionalized, imprudent mortgage lending to people who could not otherwise afford the loans was foretold in 1999.

The average checking account costs banks about $350 annually, American Banker reported this month. But whether banks should use that estimate in determining individual customer profitability remains up for debate.

First United Bancorp Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla., is unloading three of the seven western Florida branches it inherited when it acquired the failed Old Harbor Bank in Clearwater in October.

The central bank on Tuesday released a 173-page proposal governing how it plans to supervise systemically important banks and nonbanks. The plan covers everything from capital requirements to stress tests.

Pacific Capital Bancorp in Santa Barbara, Calif., is using some of its excess cash to pay down debt and resume paying interest on trust preferred securities.

The state Attorneys General need to get a deal done soon, or they — and by extension American homeowners and those who have lost their homes — lose.

With the outlook for housing still grim, banks have no choice but to continue the thankless job of modifying mortgages, cutting bank on loan volumes and raising lending standards.

Taylor Capital Group Inc. in Rosemont, Ill., has taken its first step in beefing up its common equity by completing a $35 million rights offering.

JPMorgan Chase donations last week in Detroit show how it is trying to target its philanthropy and avoid the "peanut-butter" approach to giving.

A Stanford University professor has filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission urging it to investigate Verizon Wireless's blocking of Google Wallet on its new smart phone.

SCBT Financial Corp. in Columbia, S.C., announced Tuesday morning that it is buying the $546 million-asset Peoples Bancorporation Inc. in Easley, S.C., for $28 million in stock.

Eastern Europe is well-known as a major source of cyber-attacks, but a prominent recent breach raises the question: is it also a major victim?

FAIRFAX, Va. – Apple FCU opened a new student-run branch in Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, Va., the credit union’s 33rd in-school branch.

ALGIERS, La. – Navy FCU continued its branch openings with a new facility opened yesterday here on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

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