First National Bank of the Gulf Coast believed it had all the cards in place to become a serial bank acquirer. But it hit a snag: the bank lacked a holding company to fully put its strengths to use.

Bank of America may be preparing to slash about 6% of its work force by the end of this year as part of an ongoing series of streamlining measures.

Suffolk Bancorp is looking to grow after a large purge of nonperforming assets under CEO Howard Bluver.

Community Bank of Central Wisconsin had to sell but couldn't find a single buyer — so it got creative and found two.

The Chicago-area company continues to make acquisitions in the Windy City, while other banks fret about a lack of targets. A key reason for CEO Edward Wehmer's success is his willingness to buy small banks, as opposed to swinging for the fences with one deal.

Add Fitch Ratings to the growing chorus of banking industry voices expressing concern about the expiration of a bailout-era deposit protection program and its potential impact on small banks.

Lynn Harton has held key titles at South Financial, Regions Financial and BB&T. As South Financial's CEO, he helped orchestrate the South Carolina company's sale to TD Bank.

Wintrust Financial (WTFC) has agreed to buy HPK Financial, the parent of Hyde Park Bank and Trust.

Cullen/Frost Bankers will close four branches in the Rio Grande Valley this fall. The company gained the branches after it bought the parent company of the $401 million-asset Alamo Bank of Texas in 2006.

FirstMerit's deal for Citizens Republic in Michigan sent a message that acquisition prospects in Chicago are weaker than first thought — and deal forecasters back to the drawing board.

Bankers' banks are evolving into trusted advisors to small banks just a few years after a pair of high-profile failures pared their ranks and damaged the group's credibility.

D.A. Davidson, a Portland, Ore., investment bank has recruited two bank M&A advisors in Chicago, Stephen Nelson and Eugene Katz, from rival Hovde Financial.

Two former Sterling Financial (STSA) mortgage loan officers have sued the company on claims that they are owed unpaid overtime.

RevSpring, formed by the merger of DANTOM Systems, PSC Info Group and Data Image, has acquired BestBill, a Phoenix-based billing and payment technology provider.

Two former loan officers at Sterling Financial in Lancaster, Pa., have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their role in a multi-year fraud scheme that led to massive losses at Sterling.

Alliance Data Systems (ADS) has agreed to buy credit card accounts from Talbots and to take over the retailer's private-label credit card program.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended September 15.

Creating New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp will mean one fewer thrift but allows management the chance to preserve a type of institution that is threatened with extinction.

BNC Bancorp in High Point, N.C., has completed its acquisition of KeySource Financial nearly 10 months after announcing the deal.

Three Ohio credit unions have completed a rare three-institution merger to form Pathways Financial Credit Union.