Ambitious Opus Bank announced Monday that it has signed lease agreements to open five new branches in California and Washington.

Two private-equity groups have agreed to invest a combined $100 million in a union-owned, New York bank that intends to use the proceeds to beef up its lending.

Amid criticism over its planned acquisition of the U.S. online banking unit of ING Group NV, Capital One Financial Corp. has agreed to add 500 jobs in Delaware by December 2013.

American Chartered Bancorp in Schaumburg, Ill., has raised $50 million from a group of private equity firms that includes Patriot Financial Partners, Endicott Management Co. and Siena Capital Partners.

Firms controlled by mortgage bond pioneer Lewis Ranieri and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross are partnering to buy Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage, a major lender to investors in U.S. apartment buildings, the companies said Monday.

A top Canadian financial regulatory official Monday warned the country's banks and other financial institutions against lowering interest rates further to spur additional borrowing by consumers.

The Atlanta Development Authority is shuttering a new homebuyer assistance program because the program's servicer, Bank of America, has decided to exit the correspondent lending business.

Conditional pricing, debt-to-equity swaps help to push M&A.

State regulators closed a bank on each coast Friday, bringing the failure tally this year to 73.

Bank of America Corp. is negotiating to sell its correspondent mortgage business to a unit of the private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC in New York, according to people familiar with the situation.

Bank of America Corp., the lender divesting assets to raise capital, is in exclusive talks to sell its stake in the biggest Pizza Hut franchisee for more than $800 million, said two people with knowledge of the discussions.

The acquisition of a small Dallas-area bank has been called off because the buyer was unable to raise enough capital to complete the deal.

From the Department of "Who Knew?" … Music publishers and even soap makers have a better chance at an M&A frenzy than bankers these days, according to a research firm.

The CEOs of Fundtech and BankServ, authors of a controversial deal, outline their plans to become a payments processor for businesses that operate around the world.

Contrary to many community banks, Eagle Bancorp of Bethesda, Md., has strong loan demand and lacks sufficient deposits to cover the loans. Eagle CEO Ron Paul and analysts cite the relative economic health of the Washington area for Eagle's growth, leading to a need for creative solutions.

Sandler O'Neill & Partners analyst Kevin Fitzsimmons on Friday lowered his 2012 earnings estimates for 11 regional and community banks amid concern about weak loan demand and mounting pressure on net interest margins.

Shareholders at Nara Bancorp and Center Financial have approved the planned merger of the two Los Angeles companies.

To hedge against bad surprises in a seller's portfolio, some buyers are making part of the payout contingent on the performance of certain loans or batches of them. If things go well, the practice can help the seller, too.

First National was looking to sell – for the second time. Kevin Fowler, whose return to banking as president of Rockwall Bancshares followed a failed bid for office, was looking to enter the Dallas market. A match was made.

Credit card company Discover Financial Services has been a frequent buyer in the past year as it tries to expand beyond its traditional card lending and network roots. But now it is developing new businesses internally, including a new online checking account it plans to launch at the end of 2012.