Two banks that are majority-owned by Piedmont Community Bank Holdings in Raleigh, N.C., have agreed to merge.

Kevin McCarty, the insurance commissioner of Florida who recently started investigating the force-placed insurance market, vividly recounts his fight to correct an error that, he says, led to forced coverage on his condo several years ago.

Eight banks still have more than $2 billion in loans covered by FDIC loss-sharing agreements, according to data compiled by FIG Partners. Collectively, the FDIC is covering a percentage of losses on $39 billion of loans at those banks. Here are the banks with the largest amount of covered loans at June 30.

Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP, the 24-year-old investment bank that focuses on financial clients, fired about 20 people in units including trading and deal advisory, said people with direct knowledge of the decisions.

Julius Baer Group Ltd., the Swiss money manager established in 1890, agreed to pay about 860 million Swiss francs ($880 million) for Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch wealth management business outside the U.S.

First Financial Northwest (FFNW), a company under fire from activist shareholders and regulators, will replace the chief executive of its banking unit next month and has made another important management change.

Serial dealmaker Jay Sidhu is at it again, agreeing to buy the New York thrift CMS Bancorp for $20.8 million. Sidhu is paying a premium, an investor in both banks says, but Sidhu denies it.

As expiration dates near for FDIC loss-sharing agreements inked in 2008, more failed bank buyers are looking to unload loans before the coverage runs out. As a result, they face growing pressure to book new loans to replace the ones they are trying to run off.

Loan demand is soft and competition for borrowers is intense, creating tension between building portfolios and sustaining yields. Some banks have posted leaps in volume just to tread water in profitability.

The Lansing, Mich., company has turned to court to try and recapitalize itself. The move would leave all existing stakeholders with a 53% equity stake in the company. Capitol, meanwhile, is still searching for an investor to take the other 47%.

FNBNY Bancorp has hired John F. Stewart, a former president of Citibank New York, as CEO of First National Bank of New York. Stella Mendes will be the bank's president.

Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., struck its second deal in two months with an agreement to buy CMS Bancorp in White Plains, N.Y. Customers, led by Jay Sidhu, would expand its presence in Westchester County.

Julius Baer Group Ltd. (BAER), the Swiss money manager established in 1890, is nearing an agreement to acquire Bank of America Corp. (BAC)'s Merrill Lynch wealth management businesses outside the U.S., according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Stories about buyout groups dissolving and heavy-handed regulation make private equity sound like the dog that never barked in banking. But such firms have notched hundreds of deals since the crisis, and the rollup machines they've created are poised to keep going.

The agency used a cross-guaranty liability agreement to receive 85% of the proceeds from a Kansas Bank's sale to Arvest Bank in Arkansas. The deal is notable to companies with multiple banks, particularly those that are undercapitalized.

Capital Bank in Raleigh, N.C., reported a 14% rise in second-quarter earningsm while TIB Financial in Naples, Fla., said its second-quarter profit nearly doubled.

The Columbia, S.C., company is used to gaining branches and other assets in past deals. Buying Savannah Bancorp adds an investment advisory firm and mortgage capabilities at a time when banks are looking everywhere for ways to boost fees.

State regulators approved the mergers of five more troubled credit unions yesterday, including two by Credit Union of Southern California, the $600 million Brea credit union's third merger of the past few months.

First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA) in Raleigh, N.C., posted strong second-quarter results because of higher net interest income and a lower loan-loss provision.

The possible sale of ING's Canadian bank may spark a bidding contest among the world's soundest banks including Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia.