A dozen banks from Arkansas to Virginia are nearing $10 billion in assets, where they will face higher compliance costs and caps on interchange fees. Mergers among those institutions could create a new class of regional bank.

In a blow to community groups that had opposed the acquisition, the Federal Reserve on Monday approved the application by Goldman Sachs to acquire roughly $17 billion in online deposits from GE Capital.

Banks will be "more aggressive" in cutting their exposure to energy companies next month, during spring redeterminations, says Megan Snyder, an analyst with Moody's.

In an interview with American Banker, KeyCorp Chief Executive Beth Mooney discusses why the bank struck a $16.5 billion agreement to expand low- and moderate-income lending, and details of the negotiations involved.

KeyBank, a $93 billion-asset bank headquartered in Cleveland, announced plans Friday to direct $16.5 billion in lending toward low- and moderate-income communities over five years beginning in 2017.

Bank of America's board approved the repurchase of as much as $800 million in shares, joining JPMorgan Chase and Capital One Financial this year in returning more capital to shareholders.

Executives at banks that have not taken advantage of low stock prices to buy up their own shares could get hammered during quarterly earnings calls in April.

Old Point Financial in Hampton, Va., has agreed to nominate an activist investor's candidate for its board.

Independent Bank Corp. in Rockland, Mass., has agreed to buy New England Bancorp in Hyannis, Mass., the parent of Bank of Cape Cod, for $30.7 million.

A small Connecticut bank takes the plunge into mobile-friendly mortgages in a bid to turn an attractive pool of student-loan borrowers into lifetime customers.

Heartland Financial USA in Dubuque, Iowa, has exited the Small Business Lending Fund.

Consolidation is increasing risk to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. while reducing diversification in the industry.

Lawmakers sharply criticized the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Wednesday over a watchdog report that said the agency used abusive tactics to stop banks from offering refund anticipation loans.

Guaranty Bancorp in Denver has agreed to buy Home State Bancorp in Loveland, Colo., for $133.7 million in cash and stock. The deal is expected to close in the summer.

Loans outpacing GDP and the expressed optimism of CEOs on recent earnings calls are among the signs that growth figures are too good to be true.

Unity Bancorp in Clinton, N.J., has bought its corporate headquarters building for $4.12 million.

The San Rafael, Calif., company has stayed at roughly the same asset size for six years now, even though it has the capacity and desire to become much larger. The reasons speak to the competitiveness among lenders and the fickle nature of bank M&A.

First Resource Bank in Exton, Pa., has redeemed its remaining preferred shares tied to the Small Business Lending Fund.

About a fifth of regional banks look at their efficiency ratios as they set executive compensation. Ongoing revenue challenges and investor pressure could push more boards to consider efficiency — or simple cost-cutting — to determine pay for high-level officers.

Tidelands Bancshares in Mount Pleasant, S.C., has been declared in default on $18.3 million of trust-preferred securities.