Capital

The near future may find more banks ceasing to originate residential mortgages in an effort to stop the slide in stock prices.

Activist investors are turning their sights back toward banks after going easier on them than on other industries in recent years. Look for the next bank M&A wave to be fueled by aggressive hedge funds as they push for board seats and ultimately sales of financial institutions.

PL Capital is raising money for a new fund that'll target banks with up to $75 billion of assets, after 20 years of sticking to just community banks with less than $3 billion of assets. In this Q&A, Richard Lashley explains why activist investors are eyeing bigger banks now and how banks can avoid his kind.

The hedge fund Bluestone Financial Partners has investments in a handful of banks that it views as takeout targets, but its founder, Ted Peters, says he would never agitate for a sale. Here's why he values the pacifist approach.

College Ave Student Loans, an online lender in Wilmington, Del., announced Thursday that it has raised $20 million in equity financing.

Randolph Bancorp in Stoughton, Mass., plans to convert from a mutual thrift to a stock-owned bank. The $386 million-asset company will hold an initial public offering as part of its conversion, it said Tuesday.

The combination of falling stock prices, higher-risk strategies and signs of worsening credit quality does not bode well for the industry's road ahead.

Banco Santander SA built up capital in the fourth quarter, easing investor concern about its ability to bolster buffers, as Spain's largest lender booked charges that wiped out profit.

Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., plans to raise $24 million in an offering of its preferred stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

American International Group announced $3.6 billion in new costs to fill a reserve shortfall and said it will hold an initial public offering for its mortgage insurer and sell an adviser network as Chief Executive Peter Hancock seeks to boost returns and protect his job after criticism from activist investor Carl Icahn.

Regulators and alarmists are targeting a key source of financing on which some of the best-known American companies rely.

It is too early in the Providence, R.I., bank's turnaround plan to buy another bank, CEO Bruce Van Saun says. Instead, he would rather invest in acquiring commercial, mortgage and other loan officers who can feed revenue while he tries to make the bank more efficient.

Signature Bank in New York has filed a plan to sell about $299 million in common stock.

Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

B of A executives capped a challenging year by reporting strong consumer and global lending as well as other upbeat fundamentals, but like a lot of their banking peers spent most of their earnings presentation fighting off gloomy questions about the future.

Bank chiefs should brace for a barrage of questions about economic uncertainty, if JPMorgan Chase's experience after releasing fourth-quarter results is any indication. Double-digit increases in loans and profits were not enough to stave off questions about the odds of recession, energy risks and adequacy of reserves.

Four Oaks Fincorp in Four Oaks, N.C., has refinanced $11.5 million in subordinated debt.

Having shored up capital following the financial crisis, many banks are flush with cash and in search of ways to put it to use. One option for banks that did sale-leasebacks in the past is to reacquire their branches.

Joseph Chillura, CEO of the $3.5 billion-asset USAmeriBank, runs a privately held company that should be an ideal candidate for industry consolidation. While trying to keep an open mind, Chillura seems intent on staying on the sidelines as other Florida banks strike deals.

Northway Bank in Berlin, N.H., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund.