Robert Barba is one of American Banker's community banking reporters. His beat includes covering community banks in the Midwest, but he additionally focuses on M&A activity and monitors bank failures nationwide. Robert has appeared on Fox Business to discuss bank failures and the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. Prior to American Banker, Robert was a general business reporter at Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Stuart, Fla., where he covered everything from biotechnology to the volatile Florida real estate market. He began his career as a business desk intern at The Denver Post and Boulder Daily Camera. Robert is based in Chicago.

Banking Lawyer Runs Grueling Race in Sahara for Charity
May 17, 2013 Brennan Ryan, a partner at Nelson Mullins, ran the equivalent of several marathons with his wife and a friend in the Marathon...

Legal Fight Delayed the Failure of Central Arizona Bank
May 15, 2013 Central Arizona Bank, a unit of Capitol Bancorp, was set to be shut down with two sister banks last Friday, but a legal...

Regulators Seize Capitol Bancorp Unit in Rare Tuesday Failure
May 14, 2013 State regulators seized a third bank unit of Capitol Bancorp., $31.6 million-asset Central Arizona Bank in Scottsdale, Ariz,...

Popular Softens Blow from Loan Sales with Investment Gain
May 14, 2013 Popular in Puerto Rico is selling another book of loans as part of its attack on credit problems. The multimillion-dollar hit...

Demise of Two Units Threatens Capitol Bancorp's Rescue Plan
May 13, 2013 A court deadline this week and the failure of two of Capitol's banks last week have added to the Lansing, Mich., company's...

Regulators Close Capitol Bancorp's N.C. Bank
May 10, 2013 A North Carolina bank that had belonged to the long-troubled Capitol Bancorp was closed by state regulators on Friday.

Regulators Seize Two Banks Owned by Capitol Bancorp
May 10, 2013 Regulators on Friday seized two banks owned by the $1.6 billion-asset company. The failures could tangle the Lansing, Mich.,...

Bucket of Likely Bank Failures Nearly Empty
May 10, 2013 After a relatively busy April, the number of critically undercapitalized banks is down to just a handful. The pool of failure...

Fresh Off IPO, Independent in Texas Hunts for Deals
May 7, 2013 Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, was already a busy buyer. Now with nearly $90 million of fresh equity and a...

Sterling Detects Value in Small Deals Others Miss
May 6, 2013 Other banks say small acquisitions take too much work, but Sterling Financial says a good, small deal is better than a risky,...