Alan Kline

Banks often pull out all the stops to attract retailers as customers, but that doesn't mean they do such a great job of keeping them.

A week after revealing that a $23 million loss in the first quarter had dropped its equity below zero, BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said late Monday that it is pursuing a stock offering in hopes of raising $30 million in fresh capital.

A sharp increase in problem loans dragged down Porter Bancorp's profits in the first quarter.

First Niagara Financial Group in Buffalo is planning to add 500 new jobs over the next five years to support its rapid expansion.

Buoyed by strong loan growth, North Jersey Community Bank earned a record $1.5 million in the first quarter, up nearly 175% from the same period last year.

First Commons Bank in Newton Centre, Mass., has raised $7.4 million of fresh capital that it intends to fund its expansion.

Electronic payments giant PayPal Inc. has acquired mobile-payments startup Fig Card Corp., PayPal said in a blog post Thursday.

Battered by problem loans, Tennessee Commerce said it lost $3.2 million in the first quarter. By comparison, the company earned $553,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Amid weak demand for advances from member banks, total assets at the Federal Home Loan banks slipped to $848.7 million at March 31, down 3% from three months earlier.

Battered by problem loans, Tennessee Commerce said it lost $3.2 million in the first quarter. By comparison, the company earned $553,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Electronic payments giant PayPal Inc. has acquired mobile-payments startup Fig Card Corp., PayPal said in a blog post Thursday.

Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., is buying the $1.6 billion-asset State Bancorp in Jericho, N.Y., for $222 million in stock, or 1.85 times State's tangible book value.

Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. in Flint, Mich., reported a loss of $68.7 million in the first quarter, a marked improvement over the $106 million it lost in the last quarter of 2010.

After falling for four straight quarters, delinquency rates on construction loans appear to have edged up slightly in the first quarter, according to preliminary estimates from Trepp LLC.

United Community Bancshares Inc. in Blairsville, Ga., has not reported a profitable quarter since mid-2008, but its chief executive said Thursday that he expects that to change starting this quarter.

Amalgamated Bank in New York has named Edward Grebow, a former private-equity firm executive, as its president and chief executive.

Abington Bancorp Inc. in Jenkintown, Pa., has settled a shareholder lawsuit alleging that officers and directors had breached their fiduciary duty when they agreed to sell the company to Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. for $273 million in stock.

United Community Bancshares in Blairsville, Ga., has not reported a profitable quarter since mid-2008, but its CEO said Thursday he expects that to change starting this quarter.

Fueled by strong loan growth and record deposit growth, Signature Bank in New York is coming off its most-profitable quarter in its 10-year history.

Shares of Wilshire Bancorp plunged early Tuesday after the Los Angeles company announced that it lost $52.1 million, or $1.77 per share, in the first quarter.