Don't focus solely on cost savings. Instead, articulate that you're willing to look at new ideas and projects to help improve margins. This will inspire managers to tap into a fresh wave of thinking.

Banks with at least $10 billion of assets saw their share of deposits increase to 74.4% at midyear from 72.4% a year earlier, the FDIC said Tuesday in its annual Summary of Deposits. Also, the number of U.S. branches and thrifts shrunk.

Matt Williams, incoming chairman of the American Bankers Association, says banks can rebound by drawing on lessons from past crises, updating business models and hiring a new generation of bankers.

David Zalman of Prosperity Bancshares has struck five deals in a little over a year. And he say he sees more opportunities than ever.

Park Sterling Corporation (PSTB) in Charlotte, N.C., said Monday it has completed its purchase of Citizens South Banking Corp. in Gastonia, N.C., for $83 million, the same day Capital Bank Financial of Coral Gables, Fla., announced the completion of its acquisition of Southern Community Financial in Winston-Salem, N.C., for $47 million.

Banks are upgrading their top executives' office space thanks to the record-low rate environment, the need for more room spurred by their rapid growth and the chance to grab the naming rights on high-profile buildings.Related Article: Suite Deals: Slow Economy Aids Banks' Office Space Projects

Returns on equity. Loans. Deposits. Those are the things that make a seller attractive — not trading multiples and capital, says Prosperity Bancshares CEO David Zalman, who has struck five deals in Texas in slightly more than a year.

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Summit Bank & Trust in Broomfield, Colo., has hired R. John Rhoades as its president and chief executive.

Prosecutors charged three men with taking part in a $100 million fraud involving the former chief executive officer of Manhattan's Park Avenue Bank, who pleaded guilty in 2010 to lying to regulators and embezzling funds.

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania (RBPAA) promoted three executives as the $831 million-asset company's management ranks continues to undergo changes.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has lifted a cease-and-desist order against Twin City Bank after it raised fresh capital.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has chosen Wells Fargo (WFC) as the servicing agent for its 503/504 loan program, replacing Bank of New York Mellon (BK), which had the job for the past 20 years.

Investors Bancorp (ISBC) will pay its first dividend, as the $11.5 billion-asset mutual thrift edges closer to a possible second-step conversion.

The $1 billion-asset bank unit of Heritage Oaks Bancorp (HEOP) on Monday announced it would acquire a branch in Morro Bay from Coast Bancorp (CTBP) in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

It is neither the intent nor the practice of NCUA to influence a vote on a credit union conversion. Our rules protect members' rights to make well informed decisions.

Under new international rules, mutual banks in the U.S. will need a way to issue marketable securities to raise capital. Core capital deferred shares, a U.K. innovation, offer a model.

The $8 billion-asset unit of First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) said Monday that David Knapp has joined the company as president of a newly formed group for commercial banking in Chicago's western suburbs.

Community bank CFO Bob Dieterich runs for Congress in upstate NY.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., has agreed to buy another failed bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.