FHFA nixes principal reductions; Democrats seethe but bankers cheer DeMarco; end in sight for refi boom.

City Holding in Cross Lanes, W.Va., continues to bulk up in Virginia, announcing late Thursday that it is buying Community Financial in Staunton for $26.1 million in stock.

Community Bank System will close five branches in September. Three of the targeted branches are ones that First Niagara acquired from HSBC and then sold to Community Bank in July.

The banking unit of American Bancorporation in St. Paul, Minn., has plans to shutter at least its third branch of the year by the end of this month.

U.S. regulators said Thursday they will be giving homeowners who believe they may have been wrongfully foreclosed upon more time to get an independent review.

Space Coast Credit Union announced Thursday that NCUA and state regulators have approved the spin-off of its two Jacksonville branches to Alive Credit Union.

Urban Partnership Bank, a Chicago bank formed to buy ShoreBank's deposits and assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 2010, has agreed to buy a large branch in Chicago's South Side from Northern Trust (NTRS).

Banks are trying hard to beef up programs tied to consumer protection, thanks to the creation of the CFPB and other consumer-related regulations. But there are few people in the job market with experience in banking and consumer protection, making this a lucrative opportunity for those who are skilled at both.

BB&T is eyeing other deals and planning to open more branches in Florida after buying BankAtlantic this week, regional executive Michael Oster says.

Heartland Financial USA (HTLF) is bulking up in Wisconsin with a deal to acquire First Shares in Platteville for roughly $11 million in cash and stock.

First California Financial Group (FCAL) — under pressure from activist investors to find a buyer — hired Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) to explore a sale or other strategic options.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares (NHTB) has made its first bank deal in nearly five years, agreeing to buy Nashua Bank for roughly $19.4 million.

BB&T CEO Kelly King took a lot of heat for letting a rival beat him out for RBC Bank, but his patient pursuit of the more affordable BankAtlantic instead looks wise in retrospect.

Hudson Valley Holding (HVB) in Yonkers, N.Y., reported lower second-quarter earnings after net interest income dropped from the same period a year earlier.

Alive CU, the former Blue Cross credit union known till last month as Healthcare's Cooperative CU, is expanding outside of healthcare facilities with a deal to buy two stand-alone branches from Space Coast CU.

A reluctance by community bankers to engage in a price war with bigger banks over commercial and industrial loans has allowed less-competitive commercial real estate lending to slowly make a comeback.

HF Financial (HFFC) has agreed to provide its largest shareholder with confidential information after the investor threatened to run its own candidate for the Sioux Falls, S.D., company's board.

Join the editors of American Banker and the industry's most influential policymakers, lawmakers and executives to discuss the issues that remain at the forefront of the regulatory landscape: CFPB, Volcker Rule, TAG, fair lending enforcement, Basel III and the impact the elections will have on financial institutions.

PLYMOUTH, Minn. — NCUA announced this morning it has awarded the remnants of AM Community CU, a failed $135 million Kenosha, Wis., credit union, to TruStone Financial FCU under a purchase and assumption agreement.

While I'm sure some community bankers applauded Sandy Weill's recent call to break up our nation's largest banks, I, for one, did not.