Community First will pay $40 million in cash for the parent of Affinity Bank.

Competition for deposits is tight, the outlook for loan demand is uncertain, and regulatory relief is slow-moving. Yet community bankers are feeling better about the economy than they have in two years, a Promontory Interfinancial Network survey found.

Lenders insist they will be able to ramp up commercial loans and mortgage refinancings without skimping on underwriting.

Professional Bank and Marquis Bank, both of Coral Gables, have been competing against each other for more than a decade. Now they are merging in hopes of landing larger clients and making better use of technology being developed in Professional's innovation lab.

ZSuite Technologies digitizes a number of services that banks provide to landlords.

The company will pay $113 million for a commercial lender based in its backyard.

With long-term interest rates at historic lows, mortgage refinancing is coming on strong. But that additional revenue may not be enough to offset net interest margin pressures and lost servicing income.

Christopher Maher is kicking the tires on an "acquisition of size" that would propel the New Jersey bank across the $10 billion-asset mark.

People’s United offered 30% more in the summer of 2018 for United Financial than it agreed to pay in a deal announced last month. What followed the initial talks is a textbook lesson in the impact of indecision and the unexpected in bank M&A.

Black and Hispanic owners of one-person businesses are more likely to be discouraged from applying for financing, and they’re less likely to receive financing when they do apply for it, than their white counterparts, according to a new report from the New York Fed.

Indiana Members Credit Union will pay cash for Commerce Bank.

The Iowa company will pay QCR Holdings about $59 million for Rockland Bank and Trust.

Acquiring the Nebraska bank would give CIT Group access to billions of low-cost deposits to fuel a go-it-alone growth plan. CEO Ellen Alemany says it could also make her company "more valuable" to potential buyers if it ever wants to sell.

The Michigan company will pay $68 million to expand in a high-priority market.

The Los Angeles company said it is also looking into internal controls tied to construction lending.

CIT Group will gain nearly $7 billion in low-cost deposits, mostly tied to homeowners associations, as part of the acquisition.

The companies said the merger will provide scale and help them update technology more efficiently.

Margin expansion may grind to a halt if the Fed holds rates steady or cuts them further. The problem is regionals tend to lack the side businesses that the big banks possess to offset lending slumps. Check out our annual ranking of banks with $10 billion to $50 billion of assets.

President Trump is expected to sign legislation soon that would expand the number of farmers who could file under the more lenient Chapter 12. Ag lenders are worried because farm bankruptcies recently rose and the trade war with China could worsen.

The Michigan company disclosed that an unnamed client made a large payment on a $6.5 million nonperforming loan.