There are fewer opportunities for upward mobility, and it's likely that the bank you go to work for will soon be merged out of existence. Is this the kind of environment that attracts the best and brightest?

Legacy Bank in Colwich, Kan., has reached its first deal in its 126-year history with an agreement to buy Alliant Bank in Sedgwick, Kan.

BancAlliance , a Chevy Chase, Md., asset management firm that helps small banks team up on large commercial loans, has raised $150 million in new capital that it will use to expand its lending network.

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Fentura Financial (FETM) in Fenton, Mich., has gotten approval for the appointments of two key executives.

MidSouth Bancorp (MSL) in Lafayette, La., announced Monday that it is buying two branches in Baton Rouge from rival Hancock Holding (HBHC).

Bank of Virginia (BOVA) in Midlothian is seeking more capital to fuel bank acquisitions following a prolonged restructuring.

Five years after embarking on a path to become a bank holding company, specialty lender CapitalSource is almost there. Tad Lowrey, the CEO of CapitalSource Bank, thinks the Fed will approve an application next year, now that company is "smaller, simpler and cleaner."

First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) in Itasca, Ill., has named Thomas M. Prame its director of retail banking, a newly created position in which he will be responsible for the bank's 100-branch network and oversee the expansion and development of its retail products and services.

Bankers, regulators and consumer advocates debate the best ways to serve low-income and underbanked consumers.

Center Bancorp (CNBC) of Union, N.J., has taken another step in its plan to bulk up in northern New Jersey.

State regulators closed banks in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee on Friday, making June a busy month for failures.

A lawsuit has been filed against Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (PEBK) alleging that the Newton company failed to operate its overdraft program in line with its customer account agreement.

Deal for Piraeus' Marathon Banking unit in U.S. satisfies Investors' M&A ambitions in New York for now, CEO Kevin Cummings says.

Avidbank in Palo Alto, Calif., will open a loan production office in downtown San Jose next week.

With Congress nearing a vote on a new Farm Bill that will set agricultural policy for the next five years, the banking industry is urging lawmakers to resist efforts to weaken the federal crop insurance program.

Cardinal Bankshares in Floyd, Va., is developing a comprehensive plan just weeks after a proxy battle brought in three new directors and led to the ouster of its chief executive.

Maybe George Bailey should've jumped — and made his savings and loan a commercial bank. If he had, he'd have been much better prepared for the Fed's decision to raise certain capital requirements, a move some are calling the death knell for the classic thrift business model: lend to home buyers like crazy.

As with housing, different bank markets across the country have crashed and recovered at different speeds. Measured by institutions with high Texas ratios, stress has tapered quickly in states like Washington and California, but remains elevated in Georgia, Illinois and Florida.

Private Bank of Buckhead in Atlanta has been given the green light to open its second branch.