BB&T (BBT) in Winston-Salem, N.C., has added its top lawyer to its executive management team.

Joseph Lucarelli was elected by the $4.5 million-asset company's board to serve a one-year term starting Jan. 1, the company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Keith Darcy, longtime head of the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association and former director of E-Trade Bank and New York National Bank, has joined Deloitte's compliance group as a senior advisor.

As branch traffic declines, community banks are considering how to enter new markets with products such as online and mobile banking.

PNC's decision to slim down and overhaul its branch network could inspire other banks to follow suit and finally start rethinking their expensive and outdated physical locations. American Banker editors discuss why most banks need to close down more branches, and why some regional and community banks remain committed to their existing networks.

Community banks' prospects will improve if they accept that the financial services industry is changing. They must re-examine strategies and business models, and experiment and improvise to exploit new opportunities.

Amalgamated Bank of Chicago has named David Knopp its next president.

Union First Market Bancshares (UBSH) in Richmond, Va., plans to remake its board and expand its executive team after acquiring StellarOne (STEL) in Charlottesville, Va.

LNB Bancorp (LNBB) in Lorain, Ohio, has sold $3.7 million of stock as part of a plan to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

M&T Bank's (MTB) long-delayed purchase of Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK) could be held up until the end of 2014.

Early in the year Hanmi Financial in Los Angeles was poised to put itself up for sale. But its deal to buy a Texas bank with operations in six states could rearm Hanmi in its fight with BBCN Bancorp and Wilshire Bancorp to be the top Korean-American bank.

Nearly one in four Federal Housing Administration loans would go belly up in the next five years if another recession hit the U.S., a new study has found.

With payday loans in regulators' cross hairs, banks are looking to check cashing as a way to bring in new customers and boost fee income.

Urban Partnership Bank in Chicago is selling a branch, has launched an online banking platform and has made an unusual offer to customers.

Fiserv was supposed to post a note on the website of an N.C. bank that BNC recently bought that redirected the acquisition's customers to BNC's site. Unfortunately, the note appeared on the wrong website -- that of a nearby rival.

Sierra Bancorp (BSRR) in Porterville, Calif., has tapped Kevin McPhaill to be its president and chief executive-in-waiting.

Zions Bancorp (ZION) said the Volcker Rule will force it to take a $387 million charge on its portfolio of collateralized debt obligations.

Malvern Bancorp (MLVF) in Paoli, Pa., took an $18.8 million loss in the quarter that ended Sept. 30 after selling a batch of bad loans for a loss.

The community bank says it's winning over government contractors and law and accounting firms with technology that's a step ahead of peers.

Hanmi Financial (HAFC) in Los Angeles has agreed to buy Central Bancorp in Garland, Texas.