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Millennial women are making great strides in the workforce, but still "channel their inner ninth grade insecure freshman when it comes to financial matters," according to Fidelity's head of personal investing.

MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City has agreed to buy Central Bancshares in Golden Valley, Minn.

The acquisition of CapitalSource has pushed PacWest's capital from full to overflowing. With diminished interest in M&A, the Los Angeles company recently doubled its dividend, while analysts expect management to award a special payout in the future.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

BB&T's chief executive on Thursday warned his peers about the increasing risks being taken in commercial lending.

Fraternity Community Bancorp in Baltimore has agreed to add a director recommended by activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

The once-distressed parent of First National Bank of Howell is on the road to recovery. For attorney Stanley Dickson, the comeback means more than a return on investment. It allowed him to save a bank that has been there for his family for over four generations.

Poage Bankshares in Kentucky disclosed that its chairman has died.

The overly complex Dodd-Frank Act came about because policymakers failed to tie regulation and regulatory structure together effectively. The next step in financial reform should be to simplify — and perhaps consolidate — regulatory processes.

Hudson Valley Holding in Yonkers, N.Y., has agreed to sell A.R. Schmeidler & Co., an investment adviser unit, to Pine Street Asset Management.

Pacific Continental in Eugene, Ore., has agreed to buy Capital Pacific Bancorp in Portland, Ore.

The heads of banks are resistant to analytics and data-driven decisions in general, according to a new survey, yet embrace them in limited uses.

UMB Bank's strong fee revenue and cheap deposits give it leeway to compete on loan pricing, employing a strategy often used by much larger banks. Mike Hagedorn, the 100-year-old bank's chief executive, also discussed UMB's renewed interest in disciplined M&A.

Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp in Buffalo, Wyo., has exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

First Savings Bank of Perkasie in Perkasie, Pa., has agreed to merge with First Federal of Bucks County in Bristol, Pa.

Independent Bank Corp. in Rockland, Mass., has raised $35 million by issuing debt.

First National Corp. in Strasburg, Va., has agreed to buy six branches in Virginia from Bank of America.

Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, Calif., has selected 18 students from colleges around the country to participate in its inaugural SVB Trek, a program connecting students to West Coast tech leaders, including entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Steven Sugarman, chief executive at Banc of California, recently completed a large branch acquisition after a public battle with an advocacy group. In a recent interview, he discussed that process as well as the bank's busy year — both the good and the bad.