Large mergers and acquisitions often spawn start-ups in the affected markets, but few deals have produced as many as quickly as Regions Financial Corp.'s purchase of AmSouth Bancorp.

PrivateBancorp Inc. in Chicago has set a $34 per share price tag on a public offering and has raised the number of shares available to 4 million.

Whitney Holding Corp . in New Orleans said on Monday it reached a definitive agreement to acquire Parish National Corp. of Covington, La.

Regulators generally disapprove of a mutual thrift's selling itself within three years of converting to a public company, but the $10 million-asset Elk County Savings and Loan Association in Ridgway, Pa., aims to be one of the rare exceptions.

One of my mantras when speaking to banking groups about sales and service is, "Make a friend, make a customer."

It had been eight months since Washington Banking Co. in Oak Harbor had made a deal to sell itself to Frontier Financial Corp. in Everett, but no closure was in sight.

First Arkansas Bancshares Inc. in Jacksonville has struck a deal to buy Greers Ferry Lake State Bank in Heber Springs, Ark.

MIDWEST

A Small Business Administration program that encourages lending to women, minorities, and veterans has become too popular for its own good.

Millennium Bankshares Corp. in Reston, Va., signed a regulatory enforcement agreement prohibiting it from paying cash dividends to shareholders without approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Silver State Bancorp raised $55 million of capital last July and used it quickly to bolster its residential construction lending in and around booming Las Vegas.

Washington Banking Co. in Oak Harbor said Tuesday that it has called off its pending sale to Frontier Financial Corp. in Everett, Wash., because the buyer could not obtain regulatory approval for the deal in a timely manner.

Gov. Charles Crist of Florida signed legislation that will let state-chartered banks sell debt cancellation products to anyone at any time.

Danny Payne, the former commissioner of the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, has a new job: turnaround specialist.

In making the case that its investment in branches, technology, and people is starting to pay off in improved profitability, Bancorp Rhode Island Inc. has again fended off a dissident shareholder's bid to win seats on its board.

As regulators grow increasingly concerned with the outlook for the commercial real estate market, a Denver software company is set to launch a product that would help community banks gauge the strength of commercial real estate loans in their portfolios.

Community Bankers Acquisition Corp. of Great Falls, Va., has finally won approval from its shareholders to acquire two small Virginia banking companies.

The start-up Capstone Bancshares Inc. in Tuscaloosa, Ala., said Friday that it has agreed to buy Security Federal Bancorp Inc., also in Tuscaloosa, for an undisclosed price.

For someone with very little banking experience, Tom Hassey sure is thinking big.