Despite ongoing challenges, executives at community banks believe they can boost revenue this year. At the same time, pressure is mounting to build scale, which could mean more consolidation.

Regions Financial has a new chief executive for its insurance business.

Susan Ralston plans to stay with Dollar Bank after the Pittsburgh mutual absorbs Bank @tlantec in Virginia Beach, where she is CEO. The longtime executive also plans to keep pushing for reforms designed to preserve the mutual banking model.

The $7.5 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that Curtis Glovier had become chairman and chief executive of Pensco Trust Co.

Nonbanking fees are also allowing Community Bank System in New York to be a patient acquirer even though it is creeping up on $10 billion in assets.

The age-old fight over whether earnings forecasts are essential for investors or bad for the economy has new legs, and banks are square in the middle of it.

BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, raised $485 million from the sale of a stake in First Hawaiian after fetching prices at the top of the marketed range.

Sandy Spring Bancorp in Olney, Md., said that its insurance unit bought The Advantage Group, which offers personal, business and life insurance to clients in Maryland, northern Virginia and Washington.

WSFS Financial in Wilmington, Del., has agreed to buy the assets of Powdermill Financial Solutions in Wilmington.

The startup firm Paymency is seeking to offer an API-driven "banking-as-a-platform" service to the U.S. financial services industry.

Unity Bancorp is raking in money from holding and selling 7(a) loans, but don't expect the bank to extend its operations beyond New Jersey and New York. Management learned that lesson the hard way during the financial crisis.

TIAA is in talks to buy EverBank Financial, the largest Florida-based lender by deposits, to expand in internet banking, a person familiar with the discussions said, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

First Hawaiian Bank in Honolulu expects to raise up to $558 million in an initial public offering after its parent BNP Paribas Group decided to spin off the unit rather than sell it.

In a political season teeming with tension around income inequality, racial economic disparities and animus toward the banking industry, reforming the Community Reinvestment Act seems like it should be a cornerstone of the debate. Yet the law has been almost entirely absent from the discussion. Here's why.

Some branch deals come with added value. A case in point is the $2 billion-asset Old Second Bancorp's agreement to buy a branch in Chicago from Talmer Bancorp in Troy, Mich. in a deal that includes deposits, assets and a vice chairman.

Quaint Oak Bancorp in Southampton, Pa., has bought the rights to a portfolio of personal and commercial insurance policies.

Old National in Evansville, Ind., reported higher quarterly profit due to securities gains and loan growth tied to its purchase of Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin.

While some institutions find it sensible to appoint chief operating officers to assist the CEO or as part of a succession plan, many others increasingly choose to go without a COO.

Monona State Bank in Wisconsin has agreed to buy MBC Bankshares in Middleton, Wis.

As chief operating officers see their roles altered through industry consolidation, they are also taking the lead of implementing banks' technological and strategic overhauls.