First BanCorp in Puerto Rico finally received the shareholder votes it needed to close in on a $525 million recapitalization.

New York bankers have indelible memories where they were and what they were doing during the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Whether working in a high rise down the street from the World Trade Center or attending a convention in the Rockies, each remembers how events of that day have shaped his life and world. Following are some of their reflections.

Safe. Small. Privately Held. Those were the descriptions of the five M&A deals that occurred in the span of a few days. A lot has to change before many prospective buyers and sellers take the plunge.

Recession-era cuts merely kept ratios of assets to employees stable as balance sheets shrank, and current ratios of compensation to earnings are well above levels that prevailed before the downturn.

The best-performing community banks and thrifts in the country are concentrated in the Northeast, according to a new report from Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP.

From the perspective of New York City's community bankers, 9/11 bred a new era of caution and governmental oversight that will not go away anytime soon.

Hamilton State Bancshares Inc. in Hoschton, Ga., said Friday that it completed a cash tender offer, repurchasing $1.5 million of its common stock.

First Merchants Corp. in Muncie, Ind., announced Friday that is planning to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program using a combination of proceeds from a recent stock offering and a low-interest loan from the Treasury Department's Small Business Lending Fund.

The president told Congress that he would act on his own to allow more Americans to refinance their mortgages. His jobs legislation will also include an infrastructure bank, an idea that has failed to gain enough support in the past.

As the United States commemorates the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack, the financial community, among many others, is taking time to reflect on those lost. We should also remember how difficult it must be for their surviving families.

Bank of North Carolina in Thomasville, N.C., announced Thursday that it is buying Regent Bank in Greenville, S.C., for $9.8 million.

The paperless document storage provider Doxo has signed up Sound Community Bank. Sound, of Seattle, will let customers receive all communications in Doxo's online file cabinet.

Cullen/Frost CEO Dick Evans, whose company dominates its home base of San Antonio, tells American Banker about his strategies for maintaining that market share, dealing with new regulations, and looking for acquisition targets.

Sudden pessimism over the economy has flattened interest rates, and revived refinancing volume and mortgage production margins.

Whitney's sale to Hancock put it in direct battlegrounds for business with Iberiabank.

Equity Bank in Andover, Kan., is bulking up in its home state with deals to acquire a small bank in Lawrence and four branches in Topeka from a Missouri bank that is exiting the market.

AmericanWest Bank has struck its third deal this year, this time forViking Financial Services Corp. in Seattle.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced a written agreement with Stonebridge Financial Corp. in West Chester, Pa.

In an effort build scale and improve efficiency, Haverhill Bank in Massachusetts has struck a deal to merge with Economy Co-operative Bank in Merrimac.

Fast-growing Signature Bank in New York announced Thursday that it has opened a new office in Manhattan and recruited a team of bankers from HSBC USA to join one of its private-client banking offices in Queens.