Editors' picks for the week include a piece discussing the outlook for U.S. community bank margins and credit quality, and an interview with Brian Johnson, managing director of Commerce Street Capital's financial institutions group.

Without a niche, 'you're not going to survive'

Few community banks boast the breadth needed to be all things to all customers. Bankers say it is vital for small players to carve out niches and dispatch precious resources to fully develop them.

M&A in the cards as US community banks ride high on the credit cycle

U.S. community bank margins are poised to expand over the next few years, buoyed by a prolonged credit cycle. The performance, combined with stronger bank stock currencies, should provide a tailwind for community bank M&A.

US banks' bond portfolios underwater for the last 4 months

U.S. banks have made moves in recent years to protect their securities portfolios from rising rates, and the efforts continued in the fourth quarter of 2016 as unrealized losses grew on their balance sheets.

Texas i-banker on recent changes to the M&A markets

Commerce Street Capital managing director Brian Johnson shared his view on the health of Texas banks and how the M&A market may be changing as prices rise and regulators raise the bar for heightened deal scrutiny.

Fed relaxes size thresholds for bank merger scrutiny

The Federal Reserve relaxed its parameters for which pending bank deals would need deeper scrutiny of possible risks to the U.S. banking systems' financial stability.