First Mid-Illinois signed a confidentiality agreement last fall to pursue a mystery bank in Illinois. It soon discovered that the bank — First Clover Leaf — was an institution it had heavily courted three years earlier.

Contrary to doom-and-gloom attitudes of some about banks' ability to compete for millennials' business, the industry will build on its history of innovation to meet the technology needs of future customers.

Two directors have resigned at 1st Constitution Bancorp as part of a dispute over changes to the Cranbury, N.J., company's board structure.

First Bancorp in Southern Pines, N.C., has agreed to buy Carolina Bank Holdings for $97.3 million, or $19.26, in cash and stock.

Evidence that regulators consider institution size when evaluating accounting compliance should encourage banks worried about the new loan-loss reserving standard.

A small Boston bank is betting it can attract tens of thousands of millennials by giving them a chance to pay off their student loans a few months early, rather than offering more common incentives such as interest on their deposits or airline miles for their purchases.

Mascoma Savings Bank in New Hampshire spent six months searching for a new president and chief executive before selecting one of its directors for the job.

More institutions are willing to pursue small acquisitions, or rely on organic growth, to cross over a regulatory threshold that includes interchange fee caps and stress testing. A big reason is that bankers are becoming more comfortable with the financial toll of such regulation.

FVCBankcorp in Fairfax, Va., and Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, are raising capital through private and public offerings of subordinated notes.

The ultimate approval of the CIT-OneWest merger by regulators represents a giant step backwards for the Community Reinvestment Act.

Union Bankshares in Virginia is among the ranks of banks nearing $10 billion in assets. Unlike many banks of its size, Union feels no pressure to pursue a transformational deal to offset increased regulatory costs.

Pacific Continental in Eugene, Ore., is planning to issue $35 million in subordinated debt that could help it fund future acquisitions.

Real regulatory relief for community banks and stricter oversight of the biggest financial firms are steps that can increase investor interest in new banks.

Citizens Community Bancorp in Eau Claire, Wis., has hired an investment bank to help it explore strategic options.

Robard Williams, senior vice president with Moody's, discusses how the explosion of fintech companies – 4,000 by his firm's count – will help banks adapt to a digital world.

With the 7(a) program headed for another record year, small banks around the country, including Access National in Reston, Va., are scrambling to add capacity.

By teaming up, community banks are hoping they'll be able to get some leverage in hammering out tech agreements with megavendors such as FIS, Fiserv and Jack Henry.

Lenders grudgingly embraced some changes in FASB's new loan-loss accounting requirements, and they get more than three years to comply, but a number of implementation pitfalls still lie ahead.

South State in South Carolina has agreed to buy Southeastern Bank Financial in Georgia, which is run by Daniel Blanton, the chairman of the American Bankers Association.

Business activity for the banking sector retained its momentum in May, according to the latest reading of the Index of Banking Activity. The overall index held essentially level with a reading of 57.0 versus the 57.1 reading in April. Among the biggest differences month-over-month was a narrowing of the divergence between consumer-sensitive indicators, which retreated from exceptionally high readings, and indicators that track commercial-lending activity, which recovered from depressed levels in April.

Many respondents to the survey pointed to consumer lending as an area of opportunity and some concern. Several bankers said that they expect consumer demand for credit, which has been robust in recent months, to intensify further amid expectations of higher rates. In response, some bankers noted that they are taking steps to buttress their loan review processes. The component of the IBA that tracks consumer loan approvals registered the largest pullback of any component in May, although it did maintain an expansionary level (scores above 50 indicate expansion within a business line).

Bankers in the Western states were the most likely to report weakness in consumer lending, although this was limited mainly to energy sensitive sections of the region. Respondents in the Midwest, in contrast, reported increased momentum, with commercial lending emerging as an area of particular strength.

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