HF Financial in Sioux Falls, S.D., is scaling back its in-store branch branches due to increased demand for online banking and the advice-oriented offerings at full-service branches.

Ironhorse Financial Group in Muskogee, Okla., has agreed to acquire Benefit Financial Group in Fort Smith, Ark.

Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pa., disclosed that another one of its banks has been hit with a consent order tied to Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance.

Community banks go against their own interests when they oppose regulations that mainly affect big banks and leave smaller institutions unscathed.

Tompkins Financial in Ithaca, N.Y., will soon have a new leader for its Bank of Castile.

Investors have been waiting for George Martinez to take Allegiance Bancshares public, and 2015 was expected to be the year. But a slide in oil prices might complicate the prospects. Still, with an acquisition to integrate and a team that produces 20% annual loan growth, he is looking forward to the coming year.

United Financial Bancorp in Glastonbury, Conn., is planning to close five branches and lay off the employees who work in them.

Legacy Bank of Florida in Boca Raton has been released from an enforcement action with state and federal regulators.

FNBK Holdings in Dallas has agreed to acquire the First National Bank of Kemp in Texas.

Incentives for companies aren't the same as incentives for people. The QRM risk-retention rule doesn't solve "IBG, YBG" — "I'll be gone, you'll be gone." Banks appear to have been slow to adopt clawback policies for individual lenders.

Valley National in Wayne, N.J., will use proceeds from a branch sale in New York City to offset costs tied to prepaying debt.

Michael Scudder stands to get a full year of benefits from three recently completed deals. The big question, however, is whether First Midwest will pursue a transformative deal to cross over $10 billion in assets and offset a heightened regulatory burden.

MainStreet Bank in Fairfax, Va., has raised nearly $13 million by issuing common stock.

LCNB Corp. in Lebanon, Ohio, has agreed to buy BNB Bancorp in Brookville, Ohio.

Banks have waited eagerly for years for interest rates to rise. Higher rates should lead to better profits for those banks that are well positioned. Others that got impatient and reached for yield with risky investments could be in a world of hurt.

Faster lending, mobile app enhancements and seamless channel hopping are all priorities top bank tech executives have for the new year.

Jack Kopnisky of Sterling Bancorp in New York, which completed a major acquisition last year and has another in the works, is close to reaching his goal of creating a top earner. That effort, and the risks associated with it, make Kopnisky one of American Banker’s five community bankers to watch in 2015.

With Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reserves erasing crisis-era losses, the agency is staring down a critical decision on how to implement a congressionally required increase in the insurance fund.

Investors who backed Broadway Financial's 2013 recapitalization are cashing out.

On at least three occasions, Michael Daly flexed his bargaining muscles in discussions with Hampden Bancorp. His tenacity led to a privately negotiated deal, a reduced exchange ratio and an amended employment agreement with Hampden's chief lending officer.