FirstMerit's Sandra Pierce has two tough jobs. Overseeing the bank's expansion into her home state of Michigan, while leading the financial advisory board picked to rescue its biggest city.

TowneBank in Suffolk, Va., has acquired The Clement Companies, an insurance agency in Greenville, N.C.

James Abbott, recently named the best investor relations professional for mid-cap banks, understands what analysts need to know about Zions because he used to be one of them.

DBA International is currently in the process of performing an in-depth review the 162-page report issued by the Federal Trade Commission entitled “The Structure and Practices of the Debt Buying Industry.”

A Senate panel is said to be looking into warnings by a former trader at JPMorgan Chase months before his bets ballooned into a $6 billion loss for the company.

Robert Scully, a former top executive at Morgan Stanley, said he will leave the Bank of America board when his term expires.

Add First Baldwin Bancshares in Foley, Ala., to the list of companies turning to bankruptcy as a way to stabilize banking units.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) has agreed to buy a credit card portfolio from Quad City Bank & Trust.

Western Alliance's deal for a small industrial loan company out of bankruptcy shows that old-fashioned financial deals still have appeal for shrewd shoppers.

A once minor marketing relationship with Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has become one of the best moves ever by Baltimore's struggling First Mariner Bank.

Brookline Bancorp (BRKL) in Boston reported higher quarterly earnings after an acquisition boosted interest income.

The payments technology company plans to acquire the online banking company for its bill payment technology.

FIS, the number-one financial services technology company on the FinTech 100 ranking, Thursday announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire mFoundry, a Larkspur, Calif.-based mobile banking and payments provider.

Fees from mortgage banking and fewer troubled loans lifted First Mariner Bancorp in the fourth quarter. The $1.38 billion-asset company in Baltimore earned $1.6 million in the fourth quarter after losing $4 million a year earlier.

Yadkin Valley Financial in Elkin, N.C., sold a reinsurance business during the fourth quarter.

Dick Bove, the country's most quotable bank analyst, has a new firm, a 167-page "Banking Manifesto," and a lot of optimism about the industry's future.

Lakeland Bancorp (LBAI) in Oak Ridge, N.J., has tapped a new leader for its bank just two days after announcement plans to buy Somerset Hills Bancorp (SOMH).

ACI Worldwide and Fidelity National Information Services each announced acquisitions of companies that provide payments technology.

Pioneer Credit Recovery, a collection agency in New York state, has helped a county in Illinois recoup $320,000 in 11 months.

The Treasury Department has unloaded its latest round of bank stocks from the Troubled Asset Relief Program at a deep discount.