The Federal Reserve's stress tests and capital decisions this week help clarify which banks can afford to buy, how much they can pay and which might need to sell.

Starved for growth, several community banks are putting aside distrust from the financial crisis to seek out partners for bigger commercial loans.

Two small Massachusetts mutual thrifts are planning to join forces in hopes of gaining the scale to better compete against larger banks.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is expected Tuesday to propose targeted changes to how banks with more than $10 billion of assets pay deposit-insurance premiums.

For the second time in less than a year, Colony Financial Inc. in Los Angeles has raised fresh capital through a stock offering.

Speaking at the annual Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium, U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis and Citizens Republic CEO Cathleen Nash urged retail bankers to consider a proactive approach to new industry regulations.

Northfield Bancorp Inc. in Avenel, N.J., has agreed to buy Flatbush Federal Bancorp Inc. in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a deal that will combine two mutual holding companies.

Wintrust Financial Corp. in Lake Forest, Ill., will raise up to $126.5 million in capital through a preferred stock offering.

The Colorado Bankers Association has launched a website to serve as a resource guide for small businesses. The site has the basics of credit, and lists several types of lenders, besides banks, that serve such borrowers.

BB&T shouldered more risk when it agreed to make its already complex deal for BankAtlantic more complicated. But the risk is manageable -- and worth it, experts say.

Southside Bancshares in Tyler, Texas, will restate its financial results for 2010 and 2011 to reflect an impairment charge for Federal Home Loan Bank option fees and changes in the fair value of certain securities.

The Federal Reserve has reached a written agreement with Central Bancorp Inc. in Garland, Texas.

First Republic Bank in San Francisco has opened a trust company in Delaware as it looks to gain a greater market share of affluent households.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., has hired a New York banking veteran as chief lending officer and picked a chief credit officer.

John Walsh, the acting Comptroller of the Currency, told attendees they shouldn't expect surprises from the OCC's exam process. Martin Gruenberg, acting chairman of the FDIC, added that big banks should face the same market forces as smaller institutions, including the threat of failure.

Great Western Bancorp. Inc. of Watertown, S.D., has agreed to buy North Central Bancshares Inc. in Fort Dodge, Iowa, for $41.5 million.

TCF Financial Corp. will take a $293 million hit in the first quarter after it decided to restructure its balance sheet while it looks to expand its specialty finance operations.

BB&T said Tuesday that it would pay off holders of BankAtlantic's trust-preferred securities and take an interest in additional assets to rescue the stalled deal.

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The list of potential bank buyers is growing at a faster rate than the ranks of sellers, according to a new research note by KBW Inc.'s Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.