Cullen/Frost Bankers will close four branches in the Rio Grande Valley this fall. The company gained the branches after it bought the parent company of the $401 million-asset Alamo Bank of Texas in 2006.

FirstMerit's deal for Citizens Republic in Michigan sent a message that acquisition prospects in Chicago are weaker than first thought — and deal forecasters back to the drawing board.

Though banks have always measured customer satisfaction, there is a greater focus now on understanding exactly what drives the customer experience and how it can help the bottom line.

BNCCorp (BNCC) has reversed a portion of the valuation allowance against its deferred-tax assets, which will result in an $8.8 million net benefit for the Bismarck, N.D., company.

Bankers' banks are evolving into trusted advisors to small banks just a few years after a pair of high-profile failures pared their ranks and damaged the group's credibility.

D.A. Davidson, a Portland, Ore., investment bank has recruited two bank M&A advisors in Chicago, Stephen Nelson and Eugene Katz, from rival Hovde Financial.

As branch traffic shrinks and the need to improve customer service grows, video-equipped ATMs are catching on. But is a small location with a video connection and non-existent staff a branch?

Two former Sterling Financial (STSA) mortgage loan officers have sued the company on claims that they are owed unpaid overtime.

The board of directors must anticipate the unexpected and quickly execute strategic alternatives when a problem arises, regardless of its severity. Failure to do so could land their financial institution on the FDIC's problem list.

Two former loan officers at Sterling Financial in Lancaster, Pa., have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their role in a multi-year fraud scheme that led to massive losses at Sterling.

With just three and a half months left until 2013, regulators are under pressure to release a boatload of new regulations, including some of the most contentious items on their plate.

Creating New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp will mean one fewer thrift but allows management the chance to preserve a type of institution that is threatened with extinction.

At age one, Occupy Wall Street is smaller and no more focused than in its early days. But its protests in Lower Manhattan this week show that among some, at least, anger toward banks continues to simmer.

Waypoint Real Estate Group, an investment firm focused on foreclosed homes in the U.S., has secured a $65 million loan from Citigroup (NYSE:C) to buy additional properties to turn into rentals.

Underserved consumers need access to high-quality small loans from financial institutions that are based on sound underwriting and include tools for budgeting and saving.

As new banking standards come into focus, the debate rages on about whether they will strengthen the financial system or merely bury it in red tape.

Polonia Bancorp in Huntington Valley, Pa., is giving investors a chance to buy more of its stock after a planned public offering started sluggishly.

BNC Bancorp in High Point, N.C., has completed its acquisition of KeySource Financial nearly 10 months after announcing the deal.

Three Ohio credit unions have completed a rare three-institution merger to form Pathways Financial Credit Union.

Broadway Financial (BYFC) in Los Angeles has increased its 2011 loss by 45%, to $15.4 million, after restating its financial results.