The 31 banks that disclosed their sales price in 2012 fetched a median price equal to 116% of their tangible book, up from a median price of 94% of tangible book in the fourth quarter and 108% a year earlier, SNL said.

Thinly traded First Trust Bank was a popular stock with investors early Friday after rumors circulated that the Charlotte community bank could soon be acquired.

Hancock Holding's (HBHC) shares tumbled Friday morning after the Gulfport, Miss., company reported that its first-quarter earnings fell short of expectations as its allowance for loan losses rose.

Calling it a "milestone in its global growth," Silicon Valley Bank announced late Thursday that it has received permission from British banking authorities to open a full-service banking office in London.

The deal would give Wells an entrée into prime brokerage and continues its niche M&A strategy.

HSBC is cutting more than 2,200 senior and middle management jobs in Britain as part of its drive to slash costs and boost profitability.

He will succeed Edgar Ancona, who is retiring after 18 years with the company, at the end of June.

As revenue growth diminishes, more community banks are looking to expand their wealth management and trust operations. A number of them, including Iberiabank and Wintrust, are turning to acquisitions for growth.

Asset quality might be paramount, but there are other things sellers need to consider as they seek to attract buyers. The list includes avoiding long-term contracts, trimming expenses and retaining key employees.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) in Maine is getting some love from analysts following its record earnings performance in the first quarter.

A security breach that struck Fidelity National Information Services a year ago still has ripple effects on the core platform provider, which reported its first-quarter earnings Thursday.

MetLife Thursday afternoon said it will exit the reverse mortgage business — where it ranks among the top five producers — selling the division to Nationstar Mortgage of Texas.

Aided by its January purchase State Bancorp, Valley National Bancorp (VLY) in Wayne, N.J., reported strong loan and deposit growth in the first quarter, though its overall earnings declined slightly from the prior year due to merger related costs and other one-time events.

Arnold Schwarzenegger said, when he was first elected as governor of California, that he wanted to "blow up the boxes" of the state bureaucracy.

Banco Santander SA plans to list its fast-growing Mexican unit later this year and has begun preparations to sell 25% of the unit in an initial public offering, Chief Executive Alfredo Saenz said Thursday.

The Columbus, Ga., bank is a constant subject of M&A speculation. First-quarter results suggest it could go it alone for a while, but accounting, capital-raising and earnings challenges may be hard to overcome long term, experts say.

The social network just wants to know everything about the consumer. Payments happen to be the best way for people to show they really "like" a product.

Solid revenue growth and a continued decline in problem loans helped boost Trustmark's first-quarter profit by 27% over the same period last year, to $30.3 million.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and BB&T will still be standing a decade from now, BB&T CEO Kelly King says. His list omits a number of other prominent players, including Citigroup.

A surge in mortgage lending combined with improved asset quality and expense control led the embattled First Mariner Bancorp in Baltimore to its first profitable quarter in more than five years for the quarter that ended March 31.