Alan Kline

With problem real estate loans continuing to pile up, Western Liberty Bancorp in Las Vegas announced Monday that it lost $2.4 million in the fourth quarter and $14.2 million for the full year.

CapStar Bank in Nashville announced late Thursday that it has struck a deal to acquire the $169 million American Security Bank & Trust Co. in Hendersonville, Tenn., for a mix of cash and stock.

VIST Financial Corp. in Wyomissing, Pa., said after markets closed Thursday that it lost $24.6 million in the fourth quarter after it wrote down $25 million of goodwill in connection with its pending sale to Tompkins Financial Corp. of Ithaca, N.Y.

Add Minnesota Bank & Trust in Edina to the growing list of community banks bulking up in mortgage lending in hopes of capturing market share from larger banks.

In a sign of growing optimism about the economy, community banks, credit unions and other lenders approved more small-business loan applications in January than in any other month during the past year, according to an analysis by Biz2credit.

ECB Bancorp Inc.'s plan to raise $80 million from private-equity groups and institutional investors has been put hold because regulators have yet to approve the pact.

Shares of NASB Financial Inc. rose more than 6% Wednesday after the Grandview, Mo., thrift company said it earned $4.9 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $3 million in the the same period in 2010.

Two months after stepping down as Minnesota's top banking regulator, Kevin Murphy has found a new job.

Lakeland Bancorp Inc. in Oak Ridge, N.J., has paid off its remaining debt to Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Synovus Financial Corporation's announcement Tuesday that it intends to issue new debt to pay off old debt has prompted one analyst to downgrade its stock.

More than eight months after Sterne Agee Group Inc. announced that it is planning to acquire a community bank, the name of the bank has finally been revealed: Citizens Exchange Bank.

Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, swung to a profit in the fourth quarter but still earned less than what analysts were expecting.

Commercial National Corp. in Latrobe, Pa., said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income climbed 44% from the same period in 2010, to $1.2 million, as lower funding costs and increased income from investments more than offset a decline in loan balances.

The Federal Reserve Board has ordered bank holding companies in Iowa, Wisconsin and South Carolina to use whatever resources are available to them to nurse their ailing bank subsidiaries back to health.

Sterling Savings Bank in Spokane, Wash., is dropping the "Savings" from its name to reflect its transition from a traditional thrift to commercial-oriented bank.

A small Minnesota bank is in hot water with its regulators after suffering steep losses on loans to some high-profile business executives.

Northway Financial Corp. in North Conway, N.H., said Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 95% from the same period in 2010, to $67,000, after it set aside more money for potential losses and absorbed costs related to prepayment of its Federal Home Loan Bank advances.

DCB Financial Corp. in Lewis Center, Ohio, is planning to raise fresh capital by issuing more stock to existing and prospective shareholders.

Sovereign Bank in Dallas is converting its loan production office in Houston into a regional headquarters and is eyeing further expansion in Texas' largest city.

Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. in Pennsylvania is acquiring a Philadelphia-area wealth management firm from Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. and the firm's management group.