Alan Kline

Citigroup (NYSE: C) has named a new head of small-business banking and created a new position within the group to help it better identify potential customers.

The Treasury Department is auctioning off shares it owns in seven more community banks still left in the Troubled Asset Relief Program and at least five of the banks intend to bid on all or some of the shares themselves.

A year after completing its acquisition of M&I Bank in Milwaukee, Bank of Montreal's BMO Harris Bank said it is shuttering 17 branches in Wisconsin, as well as five branches in Indiana and one each in Illinois and Kansas.

Armed with $150 million of fresh capital, Alliance Partners in Chevy Chase, Md., has announced that it is adding an equipment finance unit to go along with its existing corporate lending service.

French banking giant Societe Generale is selling a portion of its shipping loan portfolio to Citigroup (NYSE:C).

Ixonia Bancshares in Milwaukee has raised $21 million in fresh capital, including $16.5 million from a wealthy family that also owns a stake in the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club.

A federal appeals court has denied Republic Bancorp's bid to recover $14 million it lost on securities investments because it believes the Louisville, Ky., company should have been aware of the risks it was taking.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP) in Nashville has repaid the remaining $71.6 million of the $95 million it received from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program in December 2008.

Palmetto Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., is shedding more than $40 million of problem loans as part of its ongoing effort to clean up its balance sheet and return to profitability.

A San Antonio community bank owned by the family of prominent businessman Tom Benson is acquiring another small bank in what would be its first-ever acquisition.

Most banks take a one-size-fits-all approach to their branching strategies rather than tailor products and services to each branch based on the needs of individual markets.

Most banks have eliminated bonuses, but thanks to stock options a dozen top executives raked in seven figures last year, according to SNL.

A week after opening its first full-service branch in the United Kingdom, Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, Calif., has committed to lend as much as $100 million to Irish companies over the next five years.

Premier Community Bank in Marion, Wis., announced Tuesday that it is expanding into central Wisconsin with a deal to buy four branches from Baylake Bank (BYLK) of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Alliance Data Systems (ADS) in Dallas announced Tuesday that it is buying the credit card portfolio of the retailer Bon-Ton Stores.

In a positive sign for bank stocks, Russell Investment Group has added 25 banks to its index of 3,000 publicly traded companies while removing just three banks from its influential list.

Jacksonville Bancorp (JAXB) in Florida announced Monday that its president and chief executive, Price W. Schwenck, has retired and that its board has named veteran banker Stephen C. Green as his successor.

BancAlliance , a Chevy Chase, Md., asset management firm that helps small banks team up on large commercial loans, has raised $150 million in new capital that it will use to expand its lending network.

MidSouth Bancorp (MSL) in Lafayette, La., announced Monday that it is buying two branches in Baton Rouge from rival Hancock Holding (HBHC).

BB&T (BBT) Chief Executive Kelly King urged his fellow bankers Monday to vote against politicians who favor more regulation of the private sector and replace them with leaders who have more faith in the free markets.