State Bank Financial CEO Joe Evans has hired an ex-colleague, fund manager David Brown, to help lead the next stage of the Atlanta bank's M&A strategy.

Mercantile Bank (MBWM) in Grand Rapids, Mich., expects regulatory hang-ups to delay its acquisition of Firstbank (FBMI) in Alma, Mich.

A plan to sell a Dallas bank to an investor group through a bankruptcy auction could lead to big losses for groups that made investments at the height of the economic crisis.

It's a hot year for second-lien loans, which are already at $28 billion. But they may be "second" in name only for claims in the event of default because of the increasingly complex structures of debt issuances and inconsistent industry definitions.

Alliance Bancorp Inc. of Pennsylvania (ALLB) in Broomall will face a proxy challenge from activist investor PL Capital.

ViewPoint Financial (VPFG) in Plano, Texas, has agreed to buy LegacyTexas Group in Plano.

The positive reaction to Independent Bank Group's $170 million agreement to buy BOH Holdings shows how precrisis M&A valuation methods are returning and that the industry is getting stronger.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended Nov. 23.

Heartland Financial (HTLF) in Dubuque, Iowa, has purchased a bank of River Valley Bancorp in Davenport, Iowa.

Banc of California (BANC) in Irvine has filed documents that would allow it to offer up to $1 billion of securities.

WSFS Financial (WSFS) in Wilmington, Del., has agreed to buy First Wyoming Financial in Wyoming, Del.

The Federal Reserve Board has approved a deal for prepaid card issuer Green Dot to buy GE Capital's Walmart-branded prepaid debit card business, according to a statement the Fed posted online Nov. 22.

Retired Congressman Barney Frank, one of the architects of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, called Friday for both stringent standards and lenient enforcement around the law's much-watched Volcker rule.

Bank buyers should be taking notes about the problems with HealthCare.gov. A bad online integration of an acquisition could send new customers to the door, or worse: to Twitter.

After his cellphone number wound up online, PNC's chief executive says that he answers — and welcomes — some of the calls he gets from dissatisfied customers.

The regulatory and business environment makes most transformational deals highly unattractive and potentially dangerous for big banks, according to the leaders of Bank of America, U.S. Bancorp and PNC.

In its third acquisition deal this year, Independent Bank Group (IBTX) in McKinney, Texas, has agreed to buy BOH Holdings in Houston.

Clifton Savings Bancorp (CSBK) in Clifton, N.J., is moving forward with a long-planned second-step conversion.

One-fourth of bankers surveyed by KPMG expect to become sellers in 2014 as challenges and regulatory scrutiny rise.

Big banks have not done enough in the five years since the financial crisis to make themselves more socially responsible corporations, according to a report released Wednesday by a shareholder advocacy group.