The agency's board, however, delayed action on a contentious proposal to increase a key population threshold for determining fields of membership in metropolitan markets. Bankers remain on alert, however, because the agency has indicated an interest in revisiting the issue.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday will release results of the banking industry's performance for the third quarter.

First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has agreed to buy Mortgage Connection in Jackson, Miss.

California regulators have approved a request from private-equity firm Carpenter & Co. to raise capital for a new state-chartered bank.

Avidbank Holdings in Palo Alto, Calif., has raised $12 million through a private placement of debt.

Overall U.S. auto debt surged to $1.05 trillion in the third quarter, and the rise in subprime auto loan originations has heightened the New York Fed's concerns about that market.

County Bancorp in Manitowoc, Wis., has selected former Kimberly-Clark executive Kathi Seifert to be a director.

The industry deserves credit for rebuilding the Deposit Insurance Fund after the crisis, but victory is far from achieved in preparing agency reserves for the next crisis.

More banks are looking to buy commercial loans for reasons ranging from a dearth of organic opportunities to a need to diversify their asset mix. That surge in demand is creating an imbalance that benefits banks that have been able to make more loans.

Stonegate Bank in Pompano Beach, Fla., has begun offering a MasterCard debit card for use by U.S. citizens while traveling in Cuba.

Presuming that medium-sized banks that offer hedging products face added interest-rate-risk fears misses the full story.

TotalBank in Miami has terminated 58 employees in operating and commercial job functions, after it upgraded its technology.

Republican presidential contenders are off base when they claim the Dodd-Frank Act spurred the decline in community banks, which in fact predated the law.

LegacyTexas Financial Group in Plano will issue $75 million in subordinated debt for potential acquisitions and other uses.

Commercial and retail banking customers in some cases are being marginalized from the financial system, making de-risking a pressing social-policy issue, a Bank of America official said at a Clearing House conference.

First South Bancorp in Washington, N.C., will close three branches as part of a larger branch-restructuring plan.

The New York Department of Financial Services' letter indicating potential cyber rules are prompting concerns that the state's plans could lead to more stringent measures throughout the industry.

The private equity firm founded by Eugene Ludwig has sold about 6% of its stake in Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida for $7.3 million.

The trade group is calling for increased scrutiny of tech companies that are increasingly encroaching on banks' turf, but Georgia banker Dan Blanton says banks also need to be thinking about ways to team up with these new players in payments and lending — or figuring out how to beat them at their own game.

Entegra Financial in Franklin, N.C., has adopted a plan to preserve the value of about $12.2 million deferred tax assets.