Bank channel

Community banks need help. Bigger banks can provide them a lifeline. But it comes with a cost: the loss of bankers who understand the local community.

The combination of Mercantile and Firstbank is expected to break the bank M&A logjam in Michigan. The combined company will be on the lookout for more deals, executives say.

Doral Financial in Puerto Rico is aiming its philanthropic work at women entrepreneurs to improve the fortunes of its community and its own.

A federal judge raised the possibility that banks will have to repay billions of dollars to merchants, but legal experts say the court lacks the authority to enact such an order.

The Private Client Reserve lured professionals from J.P. Morgan Private Bank and Citi for positions in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Scottsdale, Ariz.

Benjamin Lawsky, who runs the New York Department of Financial Services, has become a top industry cop, taking on money launderers, payday lenders and even Bitcoin. In an interview, he discusses the need to break new ground while playing nice with federal regulators.

In 2012, the unit generated $25 million in revenue, beating the 133 banks in the region that reported brokerage fee income last year.

Sellers will say rising rates makes them more valuable. Buyers will say the same trend makes sellers less valuable. Add this impasse to the list of complications for bank M&A.

Cullen/Frost Bankers in San Antonio has agreed to buy WNB Bancshares in Odessa, Texas for $220 million in stock and cash.

The rules the U.S. adopted last month make major changes — purifying what counts as capital, hiking the total amount required, slapping on a series of buffers to further insulate the largest banks and creating a global leverage ratio as a floor.

The investment bank, founded by former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, hired Jewelle Bickford as a partner in its wealth-management unit.

One recruiting advantage that banks enjoy is a “minor league” of sorts. Unfortunately, it’s ignored too often.

The trade association representing credit unions believes that the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s recent proposal to redefine the meaning of a public business entity could open the door to more appropriate accounting standards for credit unions.

The Houston company is finding that its recent deals — which allowed Prosperity to expand in highly coveted businesses such as private banking and cards — are producing a nice boost to fee income.

The Federal Reserve governor leading the central bank’s effort to tighten financial regulation has a decision to make as its governing board is reshaped: Should he stay or should he go?

As a good bank in a hard-hit state, Gulfstream Bancshares focused on getting in the best shape to be above reproach to potential buyers. The strategy worked, and its agreement to sell itself to CenterState could embolden others.

Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn conversations don't come easily to banks. Here's a look at a few common missteps made in financial services.

A British charity sued a Bank of New York Mellon Corp. unit that managed its funds, saying risky investments caused losses of about 7.9 million pounds ($12.2 million).

Online banking has passed a milestone in the U.S. — more than half of adults now use it, according to a report released Wednesday by Pew Research Center.

Citi named two senior managers from rival institutions directors and ultra-high-net-worth private bankers.