New York Community Bancorp in Westbury and Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., are one step closer to completing their merger.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a final rule on Tuesday that will update how it calculates deposit insurance assessment rates for small financial institutions.

Financial technology companies should be examined for safety and soundness just like banks and credit unions, top executives from the Independent Community Bankers of America said Tuesday.

Networking is a skill, and banks would be wise to offer their employees a little guidance on how to do it effectively. Otherwise, there will be more failed efforts, like this one from a new banker in town who surely thinks he "networked" at a recent golf tournament. Here are a few tips to maximize the time and money you invest in such events.

Banner Corp. in Walla Walla, Wash., reported higher quarterly profit that reflected its purchase of AmericanWest Bank.

Stonegate Bank in Pompano Beach, Fla., has agreed to buy Regent Bancorp in Davie, Fla.

Dennis Budinich, chief culture officer at Investors Bank, discusses the rise of chief culture officers and other nontraditional jobs in the banking industry.

A new crop of chief innovation, data and what-have-you officers promises to infuse fresh thinking, as banks try to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Paragon Commercial Bank, Unity Bancorp and Nicolet Bankshares have found success by radically rethinking their strategies.

Profitability is under a lot of pressure for small institutions. But some are handling that pressure better than others, as our annual ranking of publicly traded banks and thrifts with less than $2 billion of assets shows.

What does a chief culture officer do? Though this is an uncommon title in banking, it is starting to pop up in more executive suites. Here’s why one bank sees the role as an important factor in its effort to excel.

Cutting-edge jobs — think chief innovation, strategy and data officers — are on the rise at banks and other lenders, and they are drawing free-thinking, tech-savvy candidates from inside and outside of financial services. American Banker asked several of them to recommend a book or other piece of writing that helped them tackle jobs that often were created from scratch.

U.S. Century Bank in Miami has been freed from a regulatory consent order that had restricted its activities for nearly five years.

The $189 million-asset credit union has asked approval from state and federal regulators to convert to a state-chartered mutual savings bank.

Hypur, a startup seeking to help banks serve businesses deemed high compliance risks (e.g. marijuana), has recruited a former Department of Justice lawyer to help build credibility. Its signature product: a payments platform to replace cash transactions.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., reported a profit of $17.1 million in the first quarter, up 56% from a year earlier, as strong loan growth more than offset higher expenses and an uptick in problem loans. Its earnings per share climbed 50%, to 51 cents.

Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu said Monday that its first-quarter profit increased 18.3%, to $50.2 million, from a year earlier thanks to strong loan growth, improved credit quality and a hefty gain on sales of its Visa shares.

Lance Osborne is vying for two board seats at First Niles Financial in Ohio, but he isn’t pushing the thrift to sell itself. Rather, he wants management to pull money out of securities to make more loans.

Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., plans to close 10 banks across four states by the end of the second quarter: three branches in Arkansas, four in the Missouri and Kansas region and three in Tennessee.

Community banks are grappling with a quickly changing operating environment, but they might have some practical advantages over large banks in building partnerships with fintech firms, and those relationships could give them the competitive edge they seek.