Costly regulations associated with being a bank holding company appear to have forced another insurance company to give up its bank charter.

PremierWest Bank in Medford, Ore., said Friday that it will close one-fourth of its branches to lower expenses as it struggles to return to profitability after more than three years of losses.

BankAtlantic Bancorp's deal to sell the bulk of its assets to BB&T Corp. has come under attack from yet another BantAtlantic investor: Wells Fargo.

Fifth Third Bancorp has promoted Mike Collins to area investment manager for the Butler County region of Cincinnati and Western Ohio, its second such move in less than a month.

IberiaBank Corp. in Lafayette, La., is eyeing expansion in Birmingham and other metropolitan markets in Alabama.

Tom Grady, tapped last year as Florida's banking commissioner, want to cuts regulatory costs to help state's survivors recover.

All banks are affected by more stringent regulation, but it is the less-healthy ones that are most likely to throw in the towel because of it.

KeyCorp returns to the M&A trail for first time in years in agreeing to buy 37 branches in western New York. The seller, First Niagara, is still trying to digest what it already has in the works.

Already an active lender in the recreational vehicle and lawn and garden industries, TCF Financial Corp. is now looking to make a big splash in the water sports business.

AlixPartners is at it again, adding Frank Sui as a managing director in its financial services practices. It's the second such hire the business advisory firm has made in the last six weeks.

A higher loan-loss provision and a drop in interest income drove VSB Bancorp Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings down 66%, to $162,668, from a year earlier.

Under orders to divest branches as a condition of its pending deal with HSBC Bank USA, First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Buffalo announced early Thursday that it is selling more than three-dozen western New York branches to one of its closest competitors.

Kevin Cummings, the CEO at Investors Bancorp, is eager to buy more banks and thrifts as his New Jersey company seeks deposits to fund its growing commercial book.

Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. in Lititz, Pa., said it expects to complete its acquisition of Tower Bancorp in Harrisburg, Pa., on Feb. 17 after securing regulatory approval.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to shutter 131 farm lending offices in 32 states as part of a broad mandate from the Obama administration to trim $150 million from its annual budget.

Two small Kansas banks that have been fixtures in their rural communities for decades are planning to merge in a bid to improve efficiency and better contend with increasing compliance costs.

Two community banks have recently implemented products, including mobile check capture and a rewards app, from Malauzai Software.

Bankers usually salivate over a chance to grow loans and diversify beyond real estate. So why have only 36 banks signed on for BancAlliance, a co-op designed to give them a shot a bigger commercial loans?

Washington Federal Inc. in Seattle said Wednesday that its fiscal-year first-quarter earnings jumped 36% from a year earlier, to $33.4 million, due to lower credit expenses.