Regional banks

Changing political and economic forces are raising new questions about deployment of tax savings and the cost of deposits, while old concerns about cost-cutting, credit quality and risk-taking persist or return.

Commercial customers, including small businesses, seem ready to pay up to shift to faster, more sophisticated electronic invoicing and payments, and enterprising banks that provide them the technology to do so could find it lucrative.

Increases in charitable donations will be more important than ever for bank reputations, as tax breaks and a lighter touch from financial regulators rekindle public anger about the financial crisis.

Bank M&A started off with a bang this year, with eight of the 10 biggest deals taking place in the first six months. North Carolina and Florida accounted for six deals on the list.

Davis, who stepped down as CEO a year ago, will retire as the company's chairman and as an employee at the end of 2017. Umpqua will then become one of the few publicly traded banking companies with a female chair.

The purchase will significantly increase Hancock's assets under management and administration.

The number of deals, overall dollar volume and premiums are on pace to top those from a year earlier, giving hope that even more consolidation will take place in 2018.

John Turner, the head of the Birmingham, Ala., company's corporate banking group, takes over the president's title from Chairman and CEO Grayson Hall.

The company has agreed to buy the operations of Veterans Mortgage in Salt Lake City.

The Los Angeles company will sell $1.6 billion in loans, largely tied to technology and health care, by the end of this year.