Chemical CEO David Ramaker has a wide range of options — diversify business lines, expand organically in several Midwestern states, pursue M&A or all of the above — following his recent acquisition of Talmer. But new challenges accompany Chemical's higher profile, too.

As the banking environment demands a different skill set for those operating leaner branch networks, institutions should look at tellers as a longer-term human resource with growth potential.

Opus Bank completed a $509 million securitization of its multifamily loans through a Freddie Mac-sponsored "Q-deal" risk-transfer securitization, the company announced Tuesday.

Get out of the red six months from now. That is Fred Viaud's goal for Glen Rock Savings Bank in New Jersey, which on Tuesday said he would be promoted to president and CEO next week.

Deutsche Bank AG will have to clear a lower capital hurdle next year, joining other European lenders who are benefiting from a change in how the European Central Bank sets the requirements.

The Treasury Department has significantly reduced its stake in Broadway Financial in Los Angeles.

Dime Community Bancshares in Brooklyn, N.Y., said Friday that it has promoted Roberto Volino to chief operating officer.

Stephen Gordon has long been known as an entrepreneurial banker, which helped him expand his California bank aggressively over a five-year period. A spike in chargeoffs that led to a third-quarter loss spurred Gordon to beef up credit oversight. The question is whether that effort will stymie loan growth.

Highlands Bancorp in Vernon, N.J., has raised $8.5 million through a sale of common stock.

American Banker predicted these five bankers would make news. Several delivered, mostly with small, strategic deals and finding ways to make money in spite of challenging conditions.

Add Investar Holding in Baton Rouge, La., to the growing list of community banks filing shelf registrations.

From the election's policy implications for banking to deep analysis of the Wells Fargo scandal, here are some of our favorite stories of the year. Stay tuned for Part II.

The similarities between the mortgage crisis and subprime auto lending in 2016 are all too obvious, with constrained cash flows, defaults and investor losses all likely.

Sussex Bancorp in Rockaway, N.J., has raised $15 million by selling fixed- to floating-rate subordinated notes to an institutional investor. It did not name the investor.

Regulators have warned about the dangers of high commercial real estate concentrations despite bankers' assertions that they are managing risk better than they did before the financial crisis. Still, CRE concerns could influence M&A and loan diversification in 2017.

FirstBank in Lakewood, Colo., named the successors to its CEO and president, who are both retiring after holding those titles for 17 years.

Equity Bancshares in Wichita, Kan., has raised $35.4 million in a common stock offering and plans to use the proceeds to pay down a line of credit and support growth.

Iberiabank in Lafayette, La., has exited loss-share agreements tied to several failed banks it bought after the financial crisis.

Prosperity Bancshares in Houston filed a shelf registration to sell a variety of shares.

The overall pace of consolidation slowed this year, but the average deal value increased from 2015 as bigger banks continued to get back into mergers and acquisitions. Several of this year's sellers were banks that had been backed by private equity in search of growth or a post-crisis turnaround.