The New York Investment firm Prospect Capital Corp. has agreed to acquire a majority stake in specialty-finance company, First Tower Corp., for roughly $266 million.

A breakdown of M&A announcements for the last week

Private equity investors are requiring rigorous stress testing of banks' loan portfolios before they even consider making an investment.

Pacific Crest FCU announced on Monday that it is acquiring two northern California branches from ailing PremierWest Bancorp.

Bank of America Corp. dismissed Steven Milunovich and two other energy analysts as the lender seeks to trim expenses in its investment bank, said two people with knowledge of the moves.

Less than 250 credit unions have the size, capital, and charter needed to successfully buy a community bank.

Union Bank's deal to buy Pacific Capital is making the U.S. Treasury's decision to a quick write-down on its investment in the target on look like a shrewd choice.

In what would be the first acquisition in its 50-year history, Peoples State Bank in Wausau, Wis., is planning to buy the $108 million-asset Marathon State Bank in nearby Marathon City for $5.6 million.

No, it's not a loan or a piece of land but a deferred tax asset. See how the $800 million accounting item might make it harder for the Columbus, Ga., bank to fend off prospective buyers.

As Chris Larsen steps aside as Prosper's CEO, the company — and the rest of the peer-to-peer lending industry Larsen helped create — has the opportunity to change its course and possibly even merge with one of the very banks it originally sought to displace.

Bahrain-based investment firm Arcapita Bank has filed for bankruptcy protection after failing to secure a refinancing on its $1.1 billion credit facility.

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones) - Citigroup Inc. said Monday it has sold its entire 2.71% equity stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, which will result in an after-tax gain of approximately $349 million.

PARIS (Dow Jones) - Societe Generale is close to selling a U.S. commercial property loans portfolio to private equity company Blackstone Group for $100 million, as the French bank forges ahead with its restructuring plans, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

United Recovery Systems Inc., a Houston-based debt collection agency, has purchased Enterprise Recovery Systems Inc., an agency that specializes in collecting for education providers.

Two leaders synonymous with Synovus, former CEOs James H. Blanchard and Richard E. Anthony, will not stand for re-election. Current CEO Kessel Stelling says the change will not sway its attitudes toward staying independent or selling itself.

Banks that act as trustees on collateralized loan obligations must have strong credit ratings, and the threat of downgrades has many of them too close to the line for comfort.

SAO PAULO — JPMorgan Chase & Co. is slowing down its pace of growth in Brazil this year, preferring to absorb its recent rapid expansion and see how the market develops this year, said the bank’s chief executive in the country said.

The investment bank has relocated to roomier accommodations in the Exxon Building as it adds staff and prepares for improvements in the banking industry and bank M&A.

United Community Financial Corp. in Youngstown, Ohio reported a fourth-quarter profit of $7.9 million, compared with a loss of $17.3 million a year earlier, after selling four branches.

A tepid economy and regulatory uncertainty together make for strange bedfellows, as epitomized by recent deals to sell two banks to, of all things, credit unions. And along with the deals comes renewed debate on whether the nonprofit institutions should be taxed.