A high percentage of loans to oil and gas firms are large and syndicated. As a result, more shared loans are becoming problematic for participating lenders.

Battery Ventures, a tech-focused investment firm, has agreed to acquire Physical Security Business Unit, part of the security division of Nice Systems, a vendor that focuses primarily on the financial services industry.

CIT Group's purchase of OneWest Bank should spur more lenders with less than $100 billion in assets to consider acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer John Thain said.

Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., has acquired A.I. Group, an employee-benefits and insurance company in Alpharetta, Ga.

CIT Group has completed its acquisition of OneWest Bank in Pasadena, Calif.

HSBC Holdings Plc's first-half profit beat analysts' estimates, buoyed by income from Asia and securities trading, and the bank agreed to sell its Brazilian operations for about $1 billion more than expected.

Glacier Bancorp in Kalispell, Mont., has agreed to buy Cañon National Bank in Cañon City, Colo., for $31.8 million.

Banco Bradesco SA agreed to acquire HSBC Holdings Plc's money-losing Brazil unit for $5.2 billion in cash, more than some analysts had estimated, after it outbid at least two competitors.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc., the payment-services provider, is in exclusive talks to buy SunGard Data Systems Inc. in a deal with an enterprise value of more than $8.3 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

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Santander Consumer USA Holdings expects to endure more credit losses in the coming quarters, as it expands its portfolio of higher yielding, subprime loans. But its CEO sought to assure investors that its profits would far exceed those costs.

Buying Eagle National Bank would give Stroudsburg, Pa.-based ESSA an entrée into Philly's fast-growing western suburbs.

The bank plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including possible acquisitions such as potential FDIC-assisted transactions. Iberiabank may also use the proceeds for working capital and for investments in subsidiaries to support continued growth.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has filed a shelf registration for senior notes to help pay for its acquisition of a South Carolina bank.

ESSA Bancorp in Stroudsburg, Pa., has agreed to buy Eagle National Bancorp in Upper Darby, Pa., for $25.3 million.

Lenders have increasingly turned to niche businesses, such as equipment financing, to differentiate themselves from competitors. Some banks, like Bank of the Cascades in Oregon, are choosing complicated specialties like aircraft financing that may scare off potential rivals.

While rising rates may temporarily improve net interest margin and profits, they will not increase bank stock prices for at least three reasons.

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have promised the Obama administration to invest in, and provide other support for, efforts to fight climate change.

ASB Bancorp in Asheville, N.C., is facing a potential proxy fight from New Jersey activist investor Lawrence Seidman.

Equity Bancshares in Wichita, Kan., has agreed to buy First Independence in Independence, Kan. The companies expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter, after approval from regulators and from First Independence's shareholders.