AmericanWest is buying Bank of Sacramento for $60 million in cash. Although the deal was being negotiated well before the recent market sell-off, it serves as a good example of the comfort of a fixed cash price.

Acquisitions buoyed third-quarter earnings at Home BancShares in Conway, Ark. The $7.2 billion-asset company reported Thursday that it earned $27.4 million, up roughly 49% from a year earlier.

Profits at Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., rose in the third quarter, on gains from its recent acquisition of Sterling Financial.

Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., will recognize a one-time gain of $16.6 million in third quarter profits, due to the partial reversal of its valuation allowance for deferred tax assets.

AmericanWest Bank in Spokane, Wash., has agreed to buy the $468 million-asset Bank of Sacramento in California for $60 million in cash.

Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., reported a rise in third-quarter profits as net interest income reached a record high and provisions for bad loans fell.

MetaBank in Souix Falls, S.D., has agreed to buy the operations of AFS/IBEX Financial Services, an insurance premium finance company in Dallas.

BB&T was not the first choice for Bank of Kentucky when it negotiating to sell itself. But when two preferred suitors failed to provide revised draft terms to Bank of Kentucky by an Aug. 11 deadline, it opened a window for BB&T.

County and Municipal Employees Credit Union in Edinburg, Texas, has been liquidated by the Texas Credit Union Department.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., has agreed to buy Delavan Bancshares in Wisconsin.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has reached a settlement with former executives at the failed LandMark Bank of Florida.

The third quarter had fewer deals compared to the second quarter, but three fundamental attributes of normalized M&A appeared: bigger players, shorter regulatory approvals times and interest from more buyers.

A Citigroup subsidiary has agreed to refund nearly $16 million to 31,234 customers who were said to have been charged higher investment advisory fees than promised.

First Commonwealth Financial in Indiana, Pa., has acquired Thompson/McLay Insurance Associates.

Complete Financial Solutions in Spokane, Wash., has agreed to buy Northern Star Financial in Mankato, Minn.

Kyle Waters and Andy Bower announced the creation of Loan Evaluation Services this week. The firm will provide independent loan portfolio reviews for community and regional banks that are planning to make acquisitions or have a need for third-party loan portfolio reviews.

The Federal Reserve Board has published an 11-page guide for banks looking to acquire large rivals.

Veritex Holdings in Dallas could sell up to $40.4 million of its common stock as part of its initial public offering.

NewBridge Bancorp in Greensboro, N.C., has agreed to buy Premier Commercial Bank in Greensboro.

UBS AG is tightening its rules on how employees can trade securities for personal accounts, telling staffers it wants to prevent potential abuses.