Prosperity's agreement to pay $529 million for American State Financial is one of the priciest deals since Comerica agreed to buy Sterling Bancshares more than a year ago, but the reaction to it is much more positive than it was to Comerica's deal.

Southcoast Financial Corp. in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., reported a fourth-quarter loss of $4.8 million, or nearly five times larger than what it lost a year earlier.

Over the past couple of years, the seemingly dull topic of time management has become one that senior managers are showing increased interest in discussing with their teams. I suspect this has as least something to do with the fact that we are asking smaller and smaller branch teams to accomplish more with less.

International Bancshares Corp. in Laredo, Texas, reported that its fourth-quarter earnings fell less than 1% from a year earlier, to $27 million, as both income and expenses declined.

An activist investor resigned from the board of First Financial Northwest after just five weeks when his demands for austerity measures were tabled. The investor, who is now planning a proxy fight, had asked that the company serve only hard candy at annual meetings, among other demands.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc. reported $29.1 million more in losses for the fourth quarter and full year after agreeing to pay up to $133 million to settle claims regarding loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

Extending the law that provides unlimited deposit insurance on non-interest bearing demand deposits would send a signal that just maybe the industry is not fully healthy and still needs support.

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston has struck another deal in Texas, announcing Monday that it would buy American State Financial Corp. in Lubbock for about $528 million in cash and stock.

The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh announced that it intends to convert from a federally chartered thrift supervised by the OCC to a state-chartered thrift to be supervised by New York State Department of Financial Services.

An edgy anti-bank message can work well in social media marketing, but only if it also conveys a better alternative from the company behind it.

Revenue at M&T's big acquisition remains steady but profits are not as strong as some expected nine months later.

Nearly two years after receiving a $200 million infusion from a group led by WL Ross & Co. to execute a roll-up strategy in the Midwest, Talmer Bancorp has received a second serving of capital to help it bankroll further deals.

Two banks failed on Friday, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. only finding a buyer for one of the fallen institutions.

Schaller Equity Partners discloses plans to nominate five directors, escalating a nearly yearlong battle with the small Floyd, Va., banking company.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued prompt corrective actions against five banks in January, telling them to either raise capital or be acquired by another institution.

As the Transaction Account Guarantee program is such an important issue to community banks, I read with interest Ms. Barbara Rehm's column titled "Rehm on TAG: Don't Extend it, End it." The piece omitted discussion of the reasons the TAG was created by the FDIC in the first place and why those reasons are still valid today.

The leadership of the American Bankers Association pushed attendees at this year's Conference for Community Bankers to stand united in public, while urging them to push lawmakers to sign onto a bill to address examination appeals.

Atlantic Coast Financial Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla., reported a loss of $4 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $5.2 million a year earlier, as its expenses and loan-loss provision declined.

Commerce National Bank & Trust in Winter Park, Fla., has entered into a consent order with the Officer of the Comptroller of the Currency that requires it to clean up its loan portfolio and bolster its capital levels.

The sovereign debt crisis affects all of us, whether we're managing risk at a trillion-dollar bank in North America or at Main Street Bank in Small Town, USA. Even if we don't have customers overseas, our customers at home may be affected either directly or indirectly by events on the other side of the Atlantic.