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.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday disclosed a written agreement with Gold Canyon Bank in Gold Canyon, Arizona.

Improving credit quality and continued low funding costs lifted Jacksonville Bancorp Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit 5% from the same period in 2010, to $774,000.

Chino Commercial Bancorp in California reported fourth-quarter earnings of almost $168,000, three times higher than a year earlier, and year-end income of more than $441,000, about 45% higher than 2010’s results.

Virginia Commerce Bank challenged its workers to a weeks-long walking contest to promote health, and the pedometer readings were off the charts.

Hard-pressed to increase revenue, community banks are expected to discuss plans to reduce staff, close branches and purge assets when they report quarterly results.

Five community banks, including one in Boston that is a designated community development lender, have received "needs to improve" ratings on their most recent Community Reinvestment Act examinations.