Two Fulton Financial shareholders shared their displeasure with the company at its annual meeting, slamming a decision to award a $1.2 million cash "retention" bonus to its CEO, Scott Smith, even though he's retiring at the end of the year.

Independent Bank Corp. (INDB) of Rockland, Mass., has agreed to acquire Central Bancorp (CEBK) of Somerville, Mass., for $54.8 million in cash and stock.

While having dinner with a couple of old banker friends recently, our conversation turned to a consistent challenge many management teams face. It started when one friend shared that he was recently in a meeting in which his bank's "revised" incentive plan for branch managers and frontline employees was being explained.

Like any self-conscious Chicagoan, Ed Wehmer is hoping his actions – in this case an advertising campaign at Wrigley Field – aren’t perpetuating the Chicago Cubs’ curse.

With strong ledgers and creative management, many commuity bankers are proving they can thrive despite greater regulatory hurdles and the ever-present threat of large banks.

The best performers among banks and thrifts with less than $2 billion of assets aren't just marginally better than their overall peer group — they're more than twice as good.

PacWest Bancorp (PACW) will buy American Perspective for $58 million in cash, trumping a $44 million offer that Umpqua Holdings (UMPQ) made for the San Luis Obispo, Calif., company just a month earlier.

This is the year when bank shareholders started saying "enough" to gigantic CEO pay packages and giving a stinging thumbs-down to certain banks. Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate at GMI Ratings, sums up this year's early proxy-season pay trends and offers insights into what's ahead.

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Hampton Roads Bankshares (HMPR) of Norfolk, Va., has found new buyers for three of its Gateway Bank & Trust branches it had previously agreed to sell to ECB Bancorp (ECBE).

CrossFirst Bank in Leawood, Kan., has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets and deposits of Mercantile Bancorp's $110 million-asset Heartland Bank.

Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pa., is planning to open six new branches in 2012 and will renovate five others as part of a broader effort to make its branches more inviting and free up staff to better interact with customers.

First Financial in Cincinnati instituted a full pay-out of earnings in August. Although investors were happy with the move, the company has been swarmed with questions over how long it plans to keep the payout. Last week, the company committed to it until the end of 2013.

Just days after announcing a major expansion in mortgage lending, Sun Bancorp (SNBC) in Vineland, N.J., said that it is beefing up its commercial lending team as well.

PVF Capital (PVFC) posted its first profitable quarter in four years as the Solon, Ohio, company benefited from a surge in mortgage lending activity and continued improvement in asset quality.

Capitol Federal Financial (CFFN) of Topeka, Kan., reported second-quarter income of $19.3 million, up more than 23% from a year earlier, as it lowered its total interest expenses.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta reported strong loan growth and lower expenses in the first quarter, but its overall profit fell 38% from the same period last year due what it describes as the "inherent volatility" related to the accounting of failed-bank acquisitions.

Mergers and acquisitions enjoyed a notable uptick in the first quarter. Now financial dealmakers are hotly debating whether it's a one-quarter wonder or the beginning of a much-heralded consolidation.

Armed with fresh capital from its new ownership group, Crescent Financial Bankshares in Raleigh, N.C., has reported its first profitable quarter in two years and said it has won approval from regulators to resume divided payments on both trust-preferred securities and shares issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Hawaii State FCU announced this morning the hiring of Andrew Rosen, an experienced banker on the mainland, as president and CEO of the $1.3 billion credit union.