First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., has appointed Blake Coules chief risk officer.

Banks can use advanced database marketing techniques to identify current customers who may be shopping for a mortgage, writes Garth Graham.

Customers Bank in Wyomissing, Pa., has announced three new appointments to executive positions, including one to the newly created role of Small Business Administration national director.

Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., is expanding its commercial banking operations to lend to more midsize companies in more parts of the country.

Investment banker Jason R. Hach has joined Sandler O’Neill following four years at its archrival Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Membership in credit unions has hit 100 million for the first time, one of their top trade groups said. The numbers are subject to challenge, but banks still have plenty to fear from their nemeses. Then again, credit unions are uneasy about the future, too.

The Bank of Edwardsville in Illinois has begun looking for a new chief executive, after its current CEO, Thomas Holloway, said he would retire next spring.

The Bancorp in Wilmington, Del., has revised its second-quarter results and now says it turned a modest profit in the quarter that ended June 30.

The bank M&A world can be challenging for private-equity vehicles because they trade lower than some of the more aggressive traditional buyers. Talmer Bancorp in Troy, Mich., announced a cash deal last week that pushed its stock up more than 5%, perhaps helping its hand in future stock deals.

First National Community Bancorp in Dunmore, Pa., showed that there is still life left in some charged-off loans.

M&F Bank in Durham, N.C., has named James H. Sills III as its president and chief executive.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed forcing banks to identify those standing behind legal entity accounts, but also made a slew of accommodations meant to make the rule more palatable.

Centrue Financial in Ottawa, Ill., said Monday that it has agreed to sell $75 million of its common stock to the New York private-equity group Capital Z Partners.

A payday lending executive who New York prosecutors say violated the state's usury laws is set to be arraigned Tuesday in a Manhattan court.

In a speech Tuesday, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will argue that recent guidance for banks regarding the marijuana industry is working as intended. But it's unclear whether banks' concerns about the risks have been addressed.

Two Midwestern banking companies, First Midwest Bancorp in Illinois and First Federal of Northern Michigan Bancorp, have completed previously announced acquisitions.

Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., is selling $150 million of unsecured senior notes to fund the cash portion of pending deals and to possibly support future acquisitions.

The banking industry had its second most profitable quarter in 23 years in the April-June period, according to SNL Financial.

New charters were once an integral piece of the bank M&A food chain, allowing bankers to start anew after selling their institutions. Do novo banking has all but dried up, and the dearth of startups has made executives hesitant to sell their banks.

Paula Johannsen was the most-active financial adviser at midyear with six mergers under her belt. In a wide-ranging interview, she discusses Florida M&A, compliance delays and the reasoning behind mergers of equals.