Credit unions and community banks served by The Members Group now have access to a fraud prevention tool that allows them to set more detailed parameters for spotting suspicious transactions.

Bank deal activity eventually has to increase, but predicting the exact timing of consolidation remains hard, says Thomas Michaud, the investment bank's chief.

The agency's research on the sector includes some larger institutions that still fit the community bank mold, while discounting smaller banks with a narrow focus.

Rockville Financial Inc. in Connecticut reported record fourth-quarter income of $4 million, up 48% from a year earlier, as net interest income and noninterest income rose.

Consumer advocates and others urge banks to improve overdraft disclosures, press CFPB's Cordray to regulate Wal-Mart.

Weak demand for advances among member banks suppressed profits at several of the nation's Federal Home Loan Banks during the fourth quarter.

CEO Douglas Glenn has won the patient support of Carlyle Group and other private-equity investors in the Virginia bank, and cleared the path for an important stock offering.

Ames National Corp. in Iowa has agreed to acquire two branches in the north central region of the state from Liberty Bank.

The parent company of United Legacy Bank in Winter Park, Fla., is buying a large stake in a rival bank in what appears to be the first step toward building a multi-bank holding company.

Bankers shouldn't complain about intrusive government regulation while begging Congress to extend unlimited deposit insurance on large transaction accounts. It's disingenuous, and perhaps worse, it's dangerous politics.

CoBank, the largest lender in the government-backed Farm Credit System, reported record profits in 2011 as higher prices for key commodities such as corn, wheat and soy led to increased loan demand from large cooperatives and agribusinesses.

People's United Financial Inc. in Bridgeport, Conn., is moving to streamline its operations after making five acquisitions in less than three years.

Britton & Koontz Bank in Natchez, Miss., has been ordered by its regulator to immediately take steps to reduce the level of risk in its loan portfolio.

The growth-hungry Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., is making good on its plans to grow organically alongside acquisitions.

Maryland lawmakers will consider a bill that would require the state treasurer to give a preference to banks with less than $5 billion of assets when doling out state banking business.

Warburg Pincus, which has invested in three banks, employed a different strategy than many of its rivals that bought into financial institutions, managing director Daniel Zilberman explains. And it has the strategy for its next round of deals ready to go.

Reviving a dead bank is as difficult as unscrambling an egg, but executives of the former United Western Bank are still trying to put their failed thrift back together again.

Sterling Financial Corp. of Spokane, Wash., has laid off 6% of its full-time employees as it works to reach an ambitious efficiency ratio goal by 2013.

Some small banks fear expiration of FDIC loan guarantees will cost them deposits. Others say the Transaction Account Guarantee program has served its purpose and should go away.

First Place Financial Corp. in Warren, Ohio said it was not able to file its results for the quarter ending Dec. 31, marking its sixth consecutive quarter in the dark, as its massive multi-year restatement drags on.