Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., is set to catapult over $10 billion in assets after agreeing to buy Community & Southern Holdings in Atlanta.

Merger-related expenses took a nearly $6 million bite out of third-quarter earnings at Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., but its chief executive predicted several recently completed deals will pay off sooner than anticipated.

Community banks, frustrated that online and email marketing often gets overlooked, are trying to get people to engage with local businesses in hopes of landing more clients.

Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh has named James McQuade its CEO-in-waiting. McQuade will succeed Robert Oeler on Nov. 1 as president of the $7.2 billion-asset mutual thrift, and then will become CEO some time next year, when Oeler retires from that position.

Even if Operation Choke Point officially ended, U.S. regulators have continued to apply the policy of threatening investigations and ruinous fines against banks that service "high-risk" customers in disfavored industries.

Communities First Financial in Fresno, Calif., has a new chief executive.

Investar Holding in Baton Rouge, La., has made a series of changes to its executive ranks.

The agency's staff is already working on a new regulation that would easing access to capital, an issue that makes bankers very nervous.

BofI Holding in San Diego is poised to end a tumultuous week, after a lawsuit accusing it of lax controls sent investors scurrying.

Webster Financial in Waterbury, Conn., reported a higher third-quarter profit on growth in deposit and loan fees related to its acquisition of health savings accounts.

Sound growth plans, not quirks of geography, define this year’s class of community bank all-stars.

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles reported a higher third-quarter profit, citing new lending and lower expenses.

NCAL Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy Commercial Bank of California in Los Angeles.

Craig Dahl has played a key role transforming the Minnesota company from a local lender driven by fees to one with national lending platforms. He discusses those moves, and the future of banking, in a wide-ranging interview.

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida in Stuart has agreed to buy the Orlando, Fla., banking operations of BMO Harris Bank.

Westamerica Bancorp. will close its branch in Upper Lake, Calif., after a failed effort to find another financial institution to take over the branch.

CVB Financial in Ontario, Calif., has agreed to buy County Commerce Bank in Oxnard, Calif.

It has been more than a year since Monterey Credit Union submitted paperwork to become a state-chartered bank. Have regulators "raised the price of admission" by insisting on healthier metrics from credit unions?

PrivateBancorp in Chicago reported higher third-quarter profit on loan growth.

Community Bank Holdings of Texas in Corsicana has agreed to buy StarBanc Holding in Fort Worth.