Growth strategies

Why choose a former Visa chief to run a custody bank? Because to survive long term, Bank of New York Mellon will have to look more and more like a payments company.

Severn said it believes Mid Maryland Title Co. will complement its existing dealings in mortgages, commercial banking and commercial real estate.

Deciding it had had enough of problem energy credits, Houston’s Green Bancorp shifted capital to Small Business Administration loans, increasingly popular among community banks because of the premiums they fetch from investors and Washington's increased commitment to the guarantee program.

While overall activity remains slow, sellers — particularly those flush with core deposits — are fetching premiums not seen in years.

ES Bancshares, which recently sold a branch near Poughkeepsie, is planning to add locations in Brooklyn and Staten Island.