Capital

Home will add 12 branches and nearly $600 million in assets when it completes the acquisition.

In anticipation of future changes, bank regulators will allow all but the largest banks to avoid a planned phase-in of 2013 capital rules.

Post-election euphoria tamped down M&A talk as bankers were hopeful that reform would justify staying independent. But there are signs bankers are getting restless.

The $1.5 billion-asset company agreed to buy Southern Missouri Bancshares to expand into two strategically important markets.

The Alabama company agreed to buy FirstAtlantic Financial for $108 million.

Three years after guiding the Baltimore bank through bankruptcy, the group that recapitalized it found a similar institution eager to form a new partnership.

The Baltimore bank, which was on the brink of failure before a group recapitalized it, is selling itself to Howard Bancorp.

Like many banks its size, CenterState in Florida may need to venture out of state to find a big enough acquisition to make additional compliance costs worthwhile.

The Florida company will pay nearly $600 million to buy HCBF Holding and Sunshine Bancorp.

Triumph Bancorp in Dallas has successfully taken chances on out-of-state acquisitions, factoring and other nontraditional strategies that many of its peers have avoided.