Bank marketing can be a bit, er, plain, but the Denver bank uses that reality to its advantage in an ad set to air Sunday in Colorado during the Super Bowl.

Despite reporting vastly improved credit quality, Independent Bank Corp. in Ionia, Mich., said Thursday that its losses in the fourth quarter doubled from the same period in 2010, to $9.8 million.

In what would be its first bank acquisition in seven years, Center Bancorp Inc. in Union, N.J., announced Thursday that it is buying the private-equity backed Saddle River Valley Bank in an all-cash deal.

Oft-shunned in the M&A world, unlisted shares can lead to a bigger payoff for sellers and offer other advantages, explains investment banker Curtis Carpenter.

A new study analyzing data from 15 years of state bank examinations has sparked a debate whether state regulators are not as tough as their federal counterparts.

Community West Bank in Goleta, Calif., is under orders from its regulator to beef up its capital levels and improve oversight of its loan portfolio.

So who exactly made the move on Bank Transfer Day? Was it young, angry hipsters?

For the first time in 20 years, Broadway Financial Corp. in Los Angeles has a new chief executive officer.

Several banks recaptured deferred tax assets in the fourth quarter, regaining an asset they had to remove from balance sheets as quarterly losses piled up during the financial crisis. Banks that are reclaiming these assets have been able to boost capital levels.

Losses at Florida Community Bank narrowed in the fourth quarter after the Miami bank trimmed overhead by cutting 10% of its workforce.

Core banking provider Jack Henry's electronic payments unit is moving like a juggernaut. Its clients are also seeing little effect of the Durbin amendment, which had the potential to curb debit-card use.

The fact of the matter is that banks can manipulate earnings, and consequently capital, through decisions about loss provisioning.

With two of its largest investors pressuring it to find a buyer, First California Financial Group Inc. in Westlake Village has hired an unnamed investment bank to help it explore its options.

Shares of BOK Financial Corp. Inc. slid Wednesday after the Tulsa, Okla., company reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell well short of analysts' estimates.

With six acquisitions under its belt and a seventh in the works, the Los Angeles company strikes again with a deal for Phoenix business bank.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., ended 2011 with lower profit for the fourth quarter and a loss for the year.

The regulatory nod that allowed prepaid card company Green Dot to buy a bank marked a culmination of founder Steve Streit's rocky, years-long effort to move from the profitable fringes of banking into the mainstream.

Concerned about robberies, Chappell Hill Bank began encouraging patrons to bring legally concealed weapons into its branch. Now the Texas bank's unconventional CEO needs to find ways to bring in loans.

The election season, already off to a fascinating start, will have an added twist for high-ranking members of the House Financial Services Committee.

There have always been regulatory impediments to the pursuit of profit, but bankers are increasingly worried about how to preserve the self-determination they have left.