Strategic planning

The Sunshine State deal comes following a banner year for credit union-bank combinations, despite pushback from community banking advocates.

Royal Bank of Canada executives said they plan to start originating more mortgages in the United States, and they indicated that they may ditch the City National Bank brand.

The Mississippi lender said regulators have signed off sooner than expected on its $103.6 million acquisition of First Chatham Bank. The bank's CEO and deal advisers said the speedy approval bodes well for future M&A.

The Connecticut bank said its newly minted president, Steven Sugarman, successfully led a private placement and signed a long-term employment agreement that makes him a potential CEO. David Lowery, current chief executive of Patriot, plans to step down in April.

Joseph Otting, who is leading Flagstar's turnaround, said potential buyers may be interested in acquiring the regional bank once it gets past certain challenges.

The Long Island-based company, which is in the middle of a makeover, saw its stock price rise sharply after reporting a net loss that was less than what analysts expected.

Florida-based Amerant Bancorp recently restructured its securities portfolio after selling its Houston branches.

The Dallas bank has spent the last three years building itself into a new company. Now, it has to prove the investments will pay off.

After the bank's 2014 spinoff from Royal Bank of Scotland, its executives worked to shore up weaknesses. Now they're concentrating on how to close the gap with regional banking peers.

Executives at the super-regional bank told investors that years of investments are poised to start paying off in rising profits, but the market seemed skeptical about the company's plan forward.