EMEA

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta has agreed to buy the multifamily lending business of Pillar Financial in New York.

Rhode Island, while geographically small, represents strong business prospects for London-based WorldRemit.

Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., reported a double-digit increase in profits thanks to an acquisition, organic loan growth and other factors.

Oconee Financial in Watkinsville, Ga., has named a former Atlanta-area banker its new chief executive.

Banks are dumping their mortgage servicing rights because low rates and new rules make it hard to earn a profit. SunTrust, Flagstar and First South Bancorp in North Carolina are taking the opposite view.

Years of branch closures and job cuts are paying off for banks in the form of much-improved efficiency ratios. But with low interest rates still crimping profits, banks remain under pressure to continue reducing expenses.

Colony Bankcorp in Fitzgerald, Ga., has redeemed $3.6 million in perpetual preferred stock associated with the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Plenty of banks have ended their federal loss-share deals early, but despite the incentives to wind them down, plenty more still have these crisis-era arrangements in place. It may be due to varying deadlines, mistakes calculating loan values or worries that they still might need the coverage for home equity lines.

National Commerce in Birmingham, Ala., has agreed to buy Private Bancshares in Atlanta.

The latest lending figures show just how prodigious banks' shift from construction to C&I loans has been since the crisis. Yet a hard look at C&I credits, especially their loss rates, raises questions about whether they are safer.