CEO Scott Kisting says the Spokane, Wash., which recently agreed to buy the $1.2 billion-asset PremierWest, realizes the value of scale. AmericanWest will still look at banks of different sizes, but it now prefers bigger deals.

Ally Financial said Wednesday that it has repaid $2.9 billion of debt issued under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Oct. 27

First National Bank has agreed to buy City National Bancshares in a deal between Nebraska banks.

JPMorgan Chase sued the executive responsible for supervising Bruno Iksil, the trader nicknamed the London Whale for market-moving wagers at the division responsible for a $6.2 billion trading loss.

Demand for loans and fewer credit losses narrowed losses at Hampton Roads Bankshares (HMPR) in Norfolk, Va. in the third quarter.

EMC (EMC) has agreed to buy Silver Tail Systems, a privately held company that helps clients fend off fraudsters and Web-based attackers.

The storm may have passed, but its effects on big banks and their customers are far from over.

ECB Bancorp (ECBE) in Engelhard, N.C., became a more-attractive seller after posting higher quarterly earnings.

PremierWest had to sell because it could not raise the "sizable" amount of capital it needed to go on, its CEO says.

Heartland Financial (HTLF) in Dubuque, Iowa, reported that third-quarter earnings more than tripled from a year earlier.

Debt buyer Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. on Monday reported net income of $1.5 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $3.1 million for the year-ago quarter.

Crescent Financial Bancshares in Raleigh, N.C., continued to narrow its losses during the third quarter.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta has named one of its founding shareholders and current board member as its vice chairman and president.

With the failed-bank market drying up, Midwestern consolidator Talmer enters a stalking-horse bid for a small Ohio bank burdened by debts to the U.S. government and trust-preferred holders.

Old Line Bancshares (OLBK) in Bowie, Md., reported higher third-quarter earnings as loan growth and reduced expenses fueled revenue.

First Banks, a $6.5 billion-asset company, posted third-quarter earnings of $8.5 million, compared with a net loss of $2.1 million a year earlier.

Portfolio Recovery Associates, a Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer, expects to hire more than 100 people at a Tennessee call center that currently has an estimated 350 employees.

The city of Memphis, Tenn. likely will end its relationship with Texas-based Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson as the collection agency deals with a class-action lawsuit in the city.

Kelly S. King, the chairman and chief executive of BB&T (BBT), has been appointed to the Federal Advisory Council.