A top political prognosticator said the Occupy Wall Street crowd has a long way to go before they evolve into a political movement on par with the Tea Party.

Hudson City Bancorp Inc.'s third-quarter profit declined more than 32% from the same period last year as historically low interest rates battered its investment portfolio.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced a written agreement with Border Capital Group Inc. in McAllen, Texas.

The deal for Anderen would be the largest open-bank transaction in Florida this year, but its price tag, as measure as a multiple of tangible book value, is much lower than those for comparable banks in other states.

First Midwest Bancorp Inc. in Itasca, Ill., said Wednesday that it had received approval from the Treasury Department to redeem $193 million in preferred stock issued in December 2008 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Buoyed by solid loan growth and strong gains in fee income, BOK Financial Corp. in Tulsa, Okla., reported a third-quarter profit of $85.1 million, up 32% from the same period last year.

The future of regional banks is simple: kill or be killed. The survivors will pose a threat to big banks, a roundtable of experts says in its predictions for banking in the year 2036

Nara Bancorp Inc. announced this week that it intends to raise $55 million in connection with its pending acquisition of Center Financial Corp. — a far cry from the $150 million it initially said it would need to seal the deal.

Fast-growing Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. in Pittsfield, Mass., is expanding into Connecticut with a deal to acquire the Connecticut Bank and Trust Co. in Hartford for $30 million in cash and stock.

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NBT Bancorp Inc. in Norwich, N.Y., reported third-quarter net income of $15.2 million, up 4.4% from a year earlier, due largely to improved asset quality.

Shares of PrivateBancorp Inc. surged Tuesday following news that the Chicago company had more than doubled its third-quarter earnings from a year earlier as revenue increased and credit costs subsided.

BancorpSouth Inc.'s shares plunged Tuesday after the Tupelo, Miss., company reported an increase in problem loans and Moody's Corp. downgraded its credit rating.

In all the talk about new checking account fees and their impact on the financially underserved, there has been little focus on actual consumers. It is worth reminding ourselves who "they" are.

As profits return, more banks will take advantage of accounting rules that let them use tax deferred assets to pad the bottom line. Far from a gimmick, their use is considered a sign of banks' improving health.

Aided by solid loan growth, Chemical Financial Corp. in Midland, Mich., and Lakeland Financial Corp. in Warsaw, Ind., reported sharp increases in profits for the quarter that ended Sept. 30.

Acting FDIC Chairman Marty Gruenberg reiterated his agency's support for small banks, but many bankers are unsure if it will lead to real change.

Deposit gains hurt third-quarter profits at big banks such as Wells Fargo & Co., but they led to record profits at Signature Bank in New York.

FirstMerit Corp. in Akron, Ohio, reported third-quarter earnings of $31.7 million, up about 9% year over year, thanks to increased commercial lending activity and fewer problem assets. Earnings per share were rose 7%, to 29 cents, beating analysts' estimates by a penny, according to Thomson Reuters.

West Coast Bank in Lake Oswego, Ore., has been ordered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to improve oversight of its overdraft program and reimburse customers who incurred overdraft fees last year using their debit or ATM cards.