Compass Bancshares, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the countries largest banks, and it has a history of high growth and integration of new technologies. This deal will be the first for Compass since it acquired First Tier in Denver in 2001, and may serve as a further spark for the company. TexasBanc will cost Compass 5 million shares and $232 million in cash.

The banking industry has been looking to expand brick-n-mortar and internet banking into Texas due to its accelerated growth in recent years. The Census Bureau says that Texas’ population grew by 23 percent from 1990 to 2000 and another 6 percent since then.

Once the deal closes regulatory checks and receives shareholder approval, Compass will have more than $31 billion in assets, making it the nation’s 28th largest bank. Analysts also see this key move to expand Compass’s swap and bond desk activities further.

A new report from Screen Digest predicts that digital distribution (in the “Western World”) will reach $400 million by 2010. While this figure is relatively small compared to the billions of total software sales for the game industry, digital distribution has grown to a size where publishers must take this sales channel very […]