The $3.6 billion-asset Simmons First said Thursday that it plans to pay $53.6 million in cash for the Little Rock, Ark., bank.

Capitol City Bank & Trust in Atlanta has named Chief Operating Officer John Turner its new president and chief executive.

The Treasury Department plans to auction nearly $118 million of shares in six lenders as it continues to wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Landmark Community Bank in Collierville, Tenn., has agreed to acquire the central Tennessee assets of Cadence Bank, according to a report.

Sober presentations from CEOs normally dominate the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference in New York, but instant interactive polls and a piano-bar soundtrack gave this year's get-together an offbeat feel.

An activist investor with a reputation for pressuring management teams is pushing for a seat on the board of Malvern Federal Bancorp in Paoli, Pa.

Atlantic Coast Financial (ACFC) in Jacksonville, Fla., plans to sell $46 million in common stock. The move, disclosed in a Tuesday regulatory filing, follows a tumultuous period for the $743 million-asset company.

More community banks are establishing credit card loyalty programs in their quest for revenue growth. The programs can work provided they are easy to understand, pay a lot of cash and tie rewards points to local services.

Regulators sought to reassure bankers about new mortgage rules at a conference in North Carolina this week, but remarks from all sides about pitfalls and policy mistakes fed the tension.

BankUnited (BKU) in Miami Lakes, Fla., is ready for some football. The $13 billion-asset company announced Thursday that it has become an "official partner" of the New York Jets.

Marlin Business Services (MRLN) in Mount Laurel, N.J., has hired a chief lending officer for its bank.

Umpqua Holdings (UMPQ) in Portland, Ore., has agreed to buy Sterling Financial (STSA) in Spokane, Wash.

The $5.8 billion-asset Chemical has begun a public offering of its common stock that seeks to raise $50 million, it announced Wednesday after the market closed. All of the shares are being offered by the company.

Financial institutions are required to thoroughly "know" their customers and vet transactions for potential criminal connections in a way that other critical service industries are not. (Imagine an electric company quizzing its customers about what appliances they plug into the wall.) Ellen Zimiles, a former assistant U.S. attorney who now heads the global investigations and compliance practice at Navigant Consulting, explains why banks have been given special responsibilities.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray sought to allay lender fears Wednesday about the agency's new mortgage rules, pledging to be flexible with companies struggling to comply by the January deadline.

UMB Financial (UMBF) seeks to raise up to $242.2 million next week from a common stock offering that priced Tuesday.

Craig Spengeman, the president of Peapack-Gladstone Financial's (PGC) wealth management unit, is retiring.

Fidelity Southern Corp. (LION) in Atlanta has redeemed the entirety of the shares it issued to the Troubled Asset Relief Program along with about a third of trust-preferred securities.

Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., has appointed Christina Maier as its new chief financial officer.

Community bankers at a mortgage conference in North Carolina admit that higher rates and new regulations trouble them, but they say they are customizing purchase products, returning to old-fashioned sales efforts and learning new business skills in response.