Trustmark (TRMK) has received approval from regulators to buy BancTrust Financial Group in Mobile, Ala. The Jackson, Miss., company had waited months for approval to by BancTrust Financial Group (BTFG).

Citigroup has paused its sweeping cost-cutting program long enough to open a handful of U.S. branches.

Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada's second-largest lender, is targeting wholesale banking in the U.S. after spending nine years building a network of retail branches from Maine to Florida.

First Horizon National (FHN) of Memphis, Tenn., is raising capital by issuing preferred stock. The parent of $25.5 billion-asset First Tennessee Bank announced Thursday an offering of depositary shares representing a fractional stake in its newly issued preferred stock.

Greek mythology. Steve Martin movies. Clever use of the word "compost." CEO Ed Wehmer uses whatever he can to make his points to analysts.

Cost-cutting is ahead of schedule at KeyCorp, CEO Beth Mooney said. But analysts asked whether the Cleveland bank is doing enough.

TD Bank has turned a huge campus in Greenville, S.C., that it inherited from South Financial into a showpiece and home for several business units.

Philip Wenger believes Fulton Financial is well-positioned to court small businesses and consumers, though he is open to acquisitions to help the Pennsylvania company expand.

Royal Bank of Canada isn't giving up on U.S. consumer banking even after Canada's largest lender took a $1.57 billion writedown on the sale of its money-losing U.S. bank.

Wells Fargo is expanding its staff in Georgia by about 3%.

Hanmi Financial in Los Angeles reported strong quarterly results Thursday as it continues to explore a possible sale or merger.

In Scott Township, near Scranton, Pa., sewer authority board members this week agreed to hire debt collection firm Portnoff Law Associates LTD to collect an estimated $133,000 in delinquencies.

The FTC has long accused banks of contributing to problems in documents collectors use to support demands that consumers repay card debts. But a lack of jurisdiction over banks meant its concerns had little weight.

Two dozen former mutual thrifts, including OmniAmerican, have reached or are nearing the end of a three-year ban from selling themselves. Let the M&A chatter begin.

Conversion activity has declined in recent years, though some observers believe mutual thrifts could find market conditions more accommodating in coming months.

Citigroup's private wealth management division has agreed to sell a trust bank subsidiary to Reliance Financial in Atlanta.

Management expressed frustration about expense control during a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings.

Require megabanks to pay their stealth subsidies into a reserve available only to creditors and the FDIC. Market discipline will do the rest, as shareholders demand that the banks shrink.

Wintrust Financial (WTFC) announced another small acquisition to expand its operations in Illinois, saying it would buy First Lansing Bancorp, which has seven branches, $370 million in assets and $325 million in deposits.