The $4.2 billion-asset, Conway, Ark., company will pay $280 million in cash and stock for the $2.9 billion-asset Liberty.

Senate Banking Committee members pressed regulators Tuesday about the extent of industry efforts to gain greater flexibility in modifying or delaying repayment of troubled student loans.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has hired Michael Allison as co-president and Bob Granfelt as chief operating officer.

Trade finance involving U.S. and Chinese companies is growing, and MetroCorp could be free to make more loans now that it is free of a regulatory order.

Premara Bank in Charlotte, N.C., has opened a branch in downtown Washington.

Banks can get beyond the negative perceptions that have dogged the industry the past few years, but they need to lay the proper groundwork first. American Banker Magazine Editor in Chief Heather Landy and Reputation Institute's Anthony Johndrow analyze the results of our fourth annual survey of bank reputations.

Banks face a looming financial risk from home equity loans, an international ratings agency is warning.

Filling this increasingly prevalent and critical position presents the perfect opportunity for a bank to bring a female executive into its C-suite.

A JPMorgan Chase court case sets a precedent on telecommuting.

No bank in our annual survey of reputations has done a better job of positioning itself on long-term trust issues than BMO Harris Bank, which outscored the field when we asked consumers whether they'd give their bank the benefit of the doubt when the next crisis hit.

With Bank of America and Best Buy scaling back telecommuting privileges and Yahoo! axing them entirely, it may seem a backlash against working from home is underway in corporate America. But that's just not the case.

Hoping that a steeper yield curve will boost your net interest margin? History shows that higher rates might not have that effect.

A handful of banks dominate the Top 5 performers in survey questions about the key components of reputation. The annual American Banker/Reputation Institute Survey of Bank Reputations drills into customers' and noncustomers' feelings about each bank's record on governance, products, workplace environment, innovation, financial performance, corporate citizenship and leadership.

Washington Federal (WAFD) in Seattle has won regulatory approval to switch to a national bank from a thrift.

An uptick in fees and a drop in expenses lifted Pinnacle Bancshares in the first quarter.

Like a lot of buyers, Southern Missouri Bancorp would like to acquire bigger banks, but in agreeing to buy Bank of Thayer and its parent for $6.5 million, its execs say they are being realistic and going for what is available.

Ambiguous language in the 2012 national mortgage settlement has caused widespread confusion about the legality of foreclosing on delinquent borrowers who have filed paperwork on mortgage modifications.

Daniel Walker made his way from working as an elevator operator at Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach to heading up the California company.

Attorney General Eric Holder ruffled feathers in March when he indicated during Capitol Hill testimony that some financial institutions are "too big to jail." Holder later tried to backtrack amid a fierce public outcry. The controversy comes on the heels of claims by some critics that the DOJ and Obama administration have given the politically well-connected banking industry an undeserved free pass in the wake of the financial crisis. As the following examples illustrate, however, the government has acted aggressively in some cases to bring senior bankers to justice-senior bankers at small institutions, that is.

Provide them with a basic understanding of the banking system, share your firm’s strategic vision and encourage communication between departments and affiliates.