Alamogordo Financial Corp. (ALMG) in Alamogordo, N.M., has agreed to pay more money to purchase Bank 1440 (BFFO) in Phoenix.

Hilltop Holdings (HTH) in Dallas has finally reached an agreement to buy the remaining shares in SWS Group (SWS) that it does not already own.

The Los Angeles companies said Tuesday that the Federal Reserve Board has approved the $2.3 billion deal.

Charles M. Williams, co-chief executive of CertusBank, has quit the Greenville, S.C., company amid allegations of gross mismanagement.

Hancock Holding (HBHC) in Gulfport, Miss., has agreed to sell its property and casualty and group benefits lines of business to AssuredPartners in Lake Mary, Fla.

First Federal and Bay View are combining similar sized institutions that have complementary infrastructure, earnings and products. Though small, the deal could serve as a model for mutuals interested in keeping their charter and culture.

A unit of SunTrust (STI) in Atlanta has acquired an advisory firm that targets the oil and gas industry.

NewBridge Bancorp (NBBC) in Greensboro, N.C., has completed its redemption of preferred stock tied to the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bankwell Financial Group (BWFG) in New Canaan, Conn., has agreed to buy Quinnipiac Bank & Trust in Hamden, Conn.

Peoples Financial Services in Scranton, Pa., will begin trading on the Nasdaq on April 2.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended March 29.

Trading revenue at banks and thrifts fell in the fourth quarter because of weak demand as well as seasonal patterns, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Friday.

The Minnesota-based regional bank once invested in community banks but is pulling back from that strategy, as the recent sale of its shares in a Virginia institution illustrated.

M&A has been marked by the pursuit of earning assets in recent years, but banks that have cracked the organic loan growth code are looking to buy deposit-heavy banks before interest rates rise.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has pumped $117 million into its U.S. bank to fund the purchase of online banking startup Simple.

Great Southern Bancorp (GSBC) in Springfield, Mo., reeled in more deposits and loans from a recent branch deal compared to what it had originally forecast.

The Honolulu bank is collecting donations to support the Polynesian Voyaging Society's 46,000-mile, worldwide sea odyssey, which aims to raise awareness of Hawaiian heritage.

BB&T (BBT) in Winston-Salem, N.C., has agreed to buy insurance agency Woodbury & Co.

Yadkin Financial revealed in a regulatory filing that merger talk is running rampant across the state. Yadkin agreed to merge with VantageSouth in January to create North Carolina's biggest community bank.

Former Bank of America Chairman Kenneth Lewis agreed to a three-year ban on serving as a public company's officer or director and to pay $10 million to settle claims by New York's attorney general that he misled investors about the bank's 2009 purchase of Merrill Lynch.