State Bank Financial Corp. in Atlanta reported that its third-quarter earnings nearly doubled from a quarter earlier, to $17.1 million, due largely to higher accretion on loans covered by loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The City Holding (W.Va.) deal for Virginia Savings was eye-catching for its simplicity, but deals between healthy banks will remain the exception for now.

More banks have sold problem assets to private-equity groups this year, while others unloaded their banks in hopes of unlocking the value in nonperforming assets. Some believe selling bad loans to nonbanks could shore up valuations by removing the challenges of regulatory oversight.

There's no "social mandate from heaven to make automobiles affordable for all," says columnist Andrew Kahr. Yet subprime auto has come out of the crisis unscathed. Unlike mortgage lenders, auto financiers didn't fall prey to the assumption that prices would inexorably rise.

VeriFone took another step in its quest to break free of the constraints of the aging plastic card. The payment terminal company's deal to buy Point, is as much about boosting its technology as boosting its customer relationships.

City Holding, one of the largest banking companies based in West Virginia, has agreed to acquire Virginia Savings Bancorp for about $13.4 million, giving it an entrée into Virginia.

Bank of America Corp. agreed to sell about 10.4 billion shares of China Construction Bank Corp. to a group of investors in a deal expected to generate an after-tax gain of $1.8 billion.

NCO Group, a Horsham, Pa.-based accounts receivable management company, reported Monday a 4% revenue increase to $304 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

VeriFone said Monday that it is buying the Northern European payment and gateway services provider Point to fuel its support of alternative payment forms.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd.'s credit costs are shrinking, but its capital hole is only getting deeper. The $2.5 billion-asset company, which has dual headquarters in Phoenix and Lansing, Mich., reported on Thursday a loss of $22.8 million for the third quarter, a 56% improvement from the loss it reported a year earlier.

First Niagara has to solve the riddle of how to pay for HSBC's branches in New York and Connecticut without hurting shareholders, selling off too many assets or mistiming the helter-skelter stock markets.

Hampton Roads Bankshares Inc. in Norfolk, Va., has completed the sale of a Gateway Bank branch to Blue Ridge Bankshares Inc. in Luray, Va.

Bank of America Corp.'s Mark Ellman is retiring next month after almost three decades advising insurers and other financial firms on capital-raising and mergers.

The protracted auction of EMI Group neared a conclusion Friday, with Citigroup Inc., owner of the storied British music company, selecting buyers for its publishing arm and recorded-music label - at a price that well exceeds many industry watchers' expectations.

Barclays Bank PLC has completed the spin out of its private equity arm. In a management buyout, Equistone Partners Europe, has acquired the management company of Barclays Private Equity from the U.K. bank's investment banking arm Barclays Capital.

The $593 million shortfall in client money at MF Global Holdings Ltd., the broker that filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 31, appears to result from a "massive hide-and-seek ploy," Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said today.

State regulators closed the $62.4 million-asset Community Bank of Rockmart in Georgia on Thursday, the 88th failure this year.

Through fever waves of populist anger including the Occupy Wall Street protests, there has been no sign that disgusted customers are draining the giant banks of their deposits.

Two banking companies owned by North American Financial Holdings — TIB Financial and Capital Bank — posted turnarounds in quarterly earnings after their takeover and recapitalization.

Four community bankers on the hunt for acquisitions warned prospective sellers that they will have little say in how much they get paid.