Roundtable panelists discuss the potential for more lending in 2012 and what areas seem well suited for community banks.

S&T Bancorp Inc. in Indiana, Pa., said Wednesday that it had redeemed its preferred stock that it sold to the Treasury Department as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

First Niagara's plan to pay for nearly 200 HSBC branches has diminished the deal's promise, put new burdens on the bank and its investors and lowered CEO John Koelmel's profile on Wall Street.

Three state banking commissioners — Mark Kaufman of Maryland, James Cooper of Indiana and John Ducrest of Louisiana — said Wednesday that heightened regulatory, economic and policy concerns are deterring worthy state-chartered banks from winning big investors.

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Equity Bank in Andover, Kan., and University National Bank in Lawrence, Kan., have terminated their deal to merge.

Lower failure activity drives spending decline, but agency adds resources for Dodd-Frank implementation.

The extra $108 million of nonperforming assets is not a problem, BMO's chief Bill Downe says in an interview in discussing the Canadian company's integration of its recent U.S. acquisition.

The Federal Reserve has hit Waccamaw Bank with a prompt corrective action ordering the Whiteville, N.C., bank to increase equity or sell itself.

A credit union association has "egg on its face" after scaling back its estimate of membership gains, one banking representative says. Another cautions against too much celebration.

Continuing its expansion in entertainment hotbeds outside of Southern California, City National Bank in Los Angeles has opened its first banking office in Atlanta.

An avalanche of private equity-led acquisitions of banks never materialized this year, dampening expectations for a 2012 rebound. But don't tell that to former bankers who are tied to buyout funds.

A second independent advisory firm has weighed in on pending board elections at HF Financial Corp. and this one is urging shareholders to cast their ballots for candidates supported by management.

A bipartisanship bill seeks to give banks a new way to appeal exam results and has regulators steaming.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp Inc. of Philadelphia has agreed to acquire SE Financial Corp.

Under a deal excepted to close in the second quarter, River Valley Bancorp in Madison, Ind., would pay $6.3 million in cash for all the common stock of the $82 million-asset Dupont State Bank.

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Many community banks that are struggling to grow and cannot afford to repay their bailout aid will be forced to sell, and they don't have a lot of time to find a buyer.

First Commonwealth Financial Corp. in Indiana, Pa., said Monday that its president and chief executive is retiring.