J. Thomas May still believes community banks can thrive but executives must find new ways to engage customers, control costs and build scale.

Square 1 Bank in Durham, N.C., has bought Sand Hill Finance, a finance company based in the Silicon Valley.

Fred Joseph retired from overseeing banks and securities firms last month. In a wide-ranging interview, he reflected on his career and provided perspective on the future of the banking industry.

Delmarva Bancshares in Cambridge, Md., has raised $11 million through a private placement.

PacWest Bancorp (PACW) in Los Angeles will take a $12 million after-tax charge in the fourth quarter because of stock awards connected to its pending acquisition of CapitalSource (CSE).

The state had a dozen deals last year as foreign investors looked to expand, particularly in the Miami area.

A former bank director accused of spearheading a massive investment scheme was arrested after a year and a half on the lam.

Wells Fargo & Co will pay a net $541 million to Fannie Mae to settle claims concerning defective home loans. The settlement completes the government-run mortgage company's efforts to have banks buy back troubled loans that were made before the financial crisis.

Private equity, new regulatory costs and declining benefits from failed-bank deals are some of the big factors that will determine who buys and sells in the coming year.

George Jones, who recently retired, is proud of how the Dallas company grew while avoiding acquisitions. He believes Texas Capital can quadruple to $40 billion in assets by staying the course.

The agreement paves the way for John Palmer, a principal and co-founder of PL Capital, to join BankFinancial's board.

A retired executive at Yadkin Financial (YDKN) resigned last week in a dispute over the Elkin, N.C., company's growth strategy.

Bill Crawford seemed content to oversee slow and steady growth before agreeing to buy United Financial in a deal that will create a $5 billion-asset bank in the Northeast.

Americas United Bank (AUNB) in Glendale, Calif., has agreed to buy Silvergate Capital Corp.'s lone branch in Los Angeles county.

A compilation of the year's favorite stories, as selected by the people who assigned and edited them. Picks exclude items that appear among Top Stories of 2013, as measured by audience size.

We revisit some of the best comments readers posted to AmericanBanker.com and BankThink.com in 2013.

Susquehanna Bancshares is doing a sale-leaseback of 30 branches to improve its capital planning. But over the long term, and more importantly to the industry overall, it could also help the bank get out of branches that may one day become obsolete.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a prompt corrective action against AztecAmerica Bank in Berwyn, Ill., in November and hit two other banks with consent orders.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) in Evansville, Ind., will pay a $500,000 fine in the process of satisfying a regulatory order to strengthen its anti-laundering controls.

Susquehanna Bancshares (SUSQ) in Lititz, Pa., has sold 30 branches to a SunTrust Banks (STI) subsidiary and agreed to lease them back.