Levels climbed 30% from the prior month, though they remain well below precrisis norms. Meanwhile, the SBA reported near-record volume in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Swipe fees jumped at an annual rate of 40% in the second quarter among a group of institutions subject to the new debit card price caps. Interactive data on interchange revenue at 900 companies.

American Bank & Trust of Wessington Springs, S.D., has agreed to buy Mansfield State Bank.

American Founders Bancorp in Lexington, Ky., announced Monday that it plans to close one of its Lexington branches by the end of October, leaving it with three branches in its hometown.

Trustmark in Jackson, Miss., does not expect to get regulators to OK its takeover of BancTrust in Mobile, Ala., until late this year or early next year.

Financial institutions can avoid negative headlines by monitoring feedback via social media, continually educating staff on how to talk to customers and making reputation risk a major part of their enterprise risk management program.

NBT Bancorp (NBTB) will acquire Alliance Financial (ALNC) in a deal valued at $233 million.

SI Financial Group (SIFI) in Willimantic, Conn., said it will report a third-quarter loss of up to $750,000 because of a rise in its loan-loss provision.

The embattled Lansing, Mich., company announced earlier this week that it had entered into agreements with two units of ValStone Partners, a private-equity firm in Birmingham, Mich.

Roy Dowdy Jr., the CEO of Citizens Bank in Geneva, Ala., expects more healthy small town banks to sell as margins thin and costs rise. His bank decided to sell to Bank of the Ozarks earlier this week.

Economic pressures will force more small banks to sell, and midsize banks will feast on them while regulatory limits trap big banks on the sidelines of M&A, says John Roddy, a Macquarie Group investment banker.

Michael Tierney will continue to tackle lingering mortgage problems at the Michigan company, which is also trying to expand more into commercial lending. Meanwhile, a key private-equity backer says is has no immediate interest to cash out of the company.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated enforcement actions against TCSB Bancorp in Traverse City, Mich., and Northeast Securities Corporation in Minneapolis.

Bank of Henderson has agreed to buy Harrison Bancorp. The Kentucky bank did not disclose the price, though Dale Sights, its president and CEO, said that he expects to complete the acquisition next month.

The Bedminster, N.J., bank holding company said Thursday that Douglas Kennedy will take over as chief executive on Oct. 9.

Debate chat masks election's high stakes for banking; Basel III resistance rises; the Most Women Powerful in Banking.

Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock, Ark., is buying Genala Banc, the holding company of The Citizens Bank of Geneva, Ala., for $27.3 million.

Federal regulators are targeting another financial firm in connection with its mortgage activities before the housing crisis.

Banks with government assistance such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program face the greatest risk under Basel III proposals, advisors of Mercer Capital and Jones Day say.

Polonia Bancorp (PBCP) in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., has postponed its stock sale and conversion to a stock company after a regulatory exam revealed compliance problems.