Retail & Commercial

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass., and Community Bank System in DeWitt, N.Y., have struck deals to buy branches from Bank of America.

Trustmark in Jackson, Miss., says it is starting to realize the benefits of its acquisition of BancTrust Financial Group.

German American Bancorp in Jasper, Ind., has agreed to buy United Commerce Bancorp in Bloomington, Ind.

Banks face caps on the card fees they can collect on Visa Europe Ltd. and MasterCard Inc. transactions as the European Union seeks to slash charges imposed on retailers by 6 billion euros ($8 billion) a year.

A new report from the Tarp inspector general says the Treasury Department failed to analyze its own data to determine which borrowers were most at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure after receiving government support.

HOOVER, Ala. – Alabama Telco Credit Union has opened a new branch in Greystone in a former Superior Bank building.

BRISTOL, Conn. – Nutmeg State FCU opened a branch in a new Walmart Neighborhood Market, the first credit union in the area to have an in-store branch.

The $17 billion-asset company's second-quarter earnings rose 2% from a year earlier, to $40.6 million. Per-share earnings of 21 cents beat the estimates of analysts polled by Bloomberg by 2 cents.

Executives of PacWest had become frustrated with the shortcomings of traditional, deposit-heavy banks when seeking M&A targets. They reached instead for the prospect of loan growth provided by commercial financier CapitalSource.

The House Financial Services Committee was expected to approve a Republican-backed bill to remove government support in a new housing finance system, but senators continue to back a more bipartisan approach that preserves a federal backstop.