Alan Kline

Less than a month after taking over a failed Maryland bank, Sonabank in McLean, Va., has unloaded the bulk of the problem loans it inherited in the deal.

Grand Bankshares in West Palm Beach, Fla., has been ordered by the Federal Reserve Board to serve as a source of strength for its struggling bank subsidiary.

Bradley S. Everly, the chief financial officer at the ailing Orrstown Financial Services in Shippensburg, Pa., has resigned after 14 years on the job.

Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut swung to a loss in the quarter that ended March 31 following its discovery that it had been underpaying interest on certain customers’ certificate-of-deposit accounts.

StellarOne (STEL) in Charlottesville, Va., is planning to eliminate about 4% of its workforce, or 34 full-time jobs, as part of an overall cost-cutting effort that it says would save the company up to $2.4 million a year.

Two proxy advisory firms are once again urging shareholders at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) to name an independent director as its board chairman.

Continuing its rapid expansion in mortgage banking, Cardinal Financial (CFNL) in McLean, Va., announced Monday that its home lending subsidiary, George Mason Mortgage, has opened an office in the Baltimore suburbs.

The investment group Castine Capital Management has been sharply reducing its ownership stake in First California Financial Group (FCAL) even as it has been pressuring the company to sell itself.

Park Sterling Corporation in Charlotte, N.C., announced Monday that it is buying Citizens South Bank in Gastonia, N.C., in a deal that would instantly double its size.

After putting its initial public offering plans on ice, Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., has placed $270 million of its investment portfolio on the auction block.

First California Financial Group's decision to turn down a buyout offer from PacWest Bancorp (PACW) has angered at least one of the company's largest shareholders.

Many banks reported strong loan production in the first quarter, but most bankers acknowledged that overall loan demand remains tepid and that the activity is largely a result of stealing business from rival banks.

Elizabeth Acton, the former chief financial officer at Comerica (CMA), has been elected to the Board of Directors at homebuilder Beazer Homes USA (BZH).

Encore Bancshares (EBTX) in Houston announced Thursday that its shareholders have approved its pending sale to Cadence Bancorp.

I've never been able to square bankers' constant demands for less regulation with their repeated requests for more government backing on loans, deposits and insurance.

Meta Financial Group (CASH) in Storm Lake, Iowa, announced Thursday that it has raised $13.2 million in three separate private placements and that the proceeds would be used to beef up its capital reserves and fund growth at both its retail bank and payments unit.

Clifton Savings Bancorp (CSBK) in New Jersey said Wednesday that it is making a concerted effort to increase its lending in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods so that it can improve its Community Reinvestment Act rating and follow through with its plan to become a 100% stock-owned company.

Already a leading provider of banking services to homeowners' associations on the West Coast, Union Bank in San Francisco has struck a deal to take the niche business nationwide.

First National Corporation in Strasburg, Va., is planning to raise up to $11.8 million in a rights offering and intends to use the proceeds to bolster its capital levels, invest in its expansion and perhaps buy back preferred shares issued under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Enterprise Financial Services (EFSC) in St. Louis is aiming to repay at least part of the $35 million it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program by the end of this year.