Heightened regulatory scrutiny, stricter credit-quality reviews by buyers themselves, cautiousness over systems conversions and other factors have added about three weeks to deal closings in recent years. There are inherent risks in that trend and ways to minimize them.

With its acquisition of the online pricing firm Paribus, Capital One continues a pattern in recent years of acquiring promising fintech startups.

Bank holding companies in Alabama and Pennsylvania have changed or plan to change their names to more closely reflect the identities of their banks.

Large banks are outpacing community banks in deposit gathering because new liquidity rules make deposits more valuable to the biggest banks, mobile banking has been a deposit magnet for the heavyweights, and regional and midsize players hold certain advantages over smaller rivals, too.

"If you say you're going to be under $50 billion, then you say you're not growing," Ellen Alemany said after CIT announced the long-anticipated sale of the aircraft leasing unit.

Enterprise Financial Services in Clayton, Mo., has agreed to acquire Jefferson County Bancshares in Festus, Mo.

Thomas Depping, who quit banking out of frustration with regulators five years ago, says Warburg Pincus' deep pockets will help him make Ascentium Capital a household name among small-business borrowers.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass., plans to accelerate its growth in upstate New York by opening regional headquarters in Albany.

It's been a tough year for farmers, and lenders are looking for ways to help those borrowers offset sagging income.

HNA Group, one of China's most acquisitive conglomerates, agreed to buy CIT Group Inc.'s aircraft-leasing business for $10 billion, giving billionaire Chairman Chen Feng command over the biggest Chinese-owned fleet for rent.

The $141 billion-asset company said in a press release Wednesday that it had appointed four managing directors to oversee designated regions for the lending group.

Bank of Commerce in Sarasota, Fla., will change hands following a bankruptcy auction.

Large banks aren't the only financial institutions producing up-and-coming executives. Five executives on American Banker's list of Women to Watch hold key positions at banks with less than $30 billion in assets.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass., has agreed to buy the assets and certain liabilities of a wealth management firm in Vermont.

Salem Five Bancorp has agreed to buy Georgetown Bancorp in a deal that will combine two Massachusetts banks.

Banks must work to attract a diverse workforce through recruiting efforts, and to close the retention gap that sees institutions lose a higher percentage of women leaders compared to those who are men.

The $20 billion-asset Iberiabank said in a press release Wednesday that it invested $1.5 million for a less than 5% stake in Liberty Financial Services in New Orleans.

Popular Inc. in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will take a $55 million hit to third-quarter earnings after its bank lost an arbitration battle with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh ended a 32-year break from acquisitions earlier this year. It didn’t take nearly that long for the $7.4 billion-asset mutual to announce its next deal.

Wells Fargo has been knocked off its pedestal, but it is imperative that the company move forward and put this episode behind it.