A Missouri Senate committee defeated a bill that would have allowed casinos to extend credit to customers. The vote surprised supporters.

Shares of Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) have been on a roll in recent days and the New York attorney general's pledge Monday to sue the banking giants did nothing to slow their momentum.

Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, was already a busy buyer. Now with nearly $90 million of fresh equity and a valuable stock, the bank is looking to more than double its size over the next five years.

Citigroup (C) named Steven Wieting global chief strategist of its private bank, the unit that claims relationships with a third of all billionaires.

Big banks have been among the most vocal supporters of gay rights in the workplace. Many LGBT bankers laud the progress but say diversity efforts still sometimes fall short.

NexTier Bank in Butler has agreed to acquire Farmers & Merchants Bank of Western Pennsylvania in Kittanning.

HSBC posted a bigger-than-estimated increase in first-quarter profit after provisions for bad loans shrank, stirring speculation the lender may step up its cost-reduction targets.

Shareholders of First Citizens Bancshares (FCNCA) rejected a proposal that would have limited the control of the family that has run the Raleigh, N.C., company for generations.

Other banks say small acquisitions take too much work, but Sterling Financial says a good, small deal is better than a risky, big one.

Bibb Lamar opted to join ServisFirst rather than stay at Trustmark, which acquired BancTrust in February. His team will help ServisFirst expand in Mobile, Ala.

The Oracle of Omaha may love banks, but his sidekick says the time has come to break them up.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended May 4.

Vincent Delie recently mentioned Maryland, Pittsburgh and Cleveland as target markets, though he expressed lukewarm interest in Philadelphia.

Astoria Federal Savings in Lake Success, N.Y., has hired an HSBC executive to lead its retail division.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., has agreed to buy BankGreenville Financial in South Carolina.

The longer yields stay low, "the bigger the problem becomes for banks," UMB CEO Mariner Kemper says. A low cost of funds helps UMB resist temptations presented by cutthroat competition and looser loan terms, Kemper adds.

More lenders are willing to make second-lien loans because of hot demand and greater yield, even as regulators warn against risks in the leveraged-lending market.

Two deals lifted First Community Bancshares in Bluefield, Va., in the first quarter.

New York investment bank MLV, expecting lots of bank M&A activity in the Southeast and Southwest, has hired an expert on those regions, David Bishop from Stifel Nicolaus, to start a research unit.

The San Francisco company's former CEO Dick Kovacevich served as stand-in at the Wells Fargo Championship pro-am. Why? One reason is that current CEO John Stumpf doesn't play golf.