Chris Cumming

FMB Bancshares in Georgia has become the second banking company to get pulled into involuntary bankruptcy after defaulting on trust-preferred dividends. Meanwhile, BNY Mellon is taking steps that could make it easier for more investors to force banks into bankruptcy.

Bank of the Ozarks recently overhauled how it awards bonuses after a big dip in shareholder approval, showing how much weight some banks place on the nonbinding measures and how proxy-advisors can swing the vote.

Midtier banks desperate for earnings growth will have to wait until interest rates rise, a report from Fitch Ratings says.

A growing number of community banks are adopting bank-owned life insurance as a way to counter shrinking loan margins and diminished returns on other investments. BOLI can also help banks that are trying to meet higher capital requirements.

Six directors resigned after the company contested an activist investor's successful effort to wrest board control. As a court battle looms and regulators watch, the company could struggle to find replacement directors.

The Interest-Rate Crystal Ball; Citi Exodus; Argentine Debt Drama

Six directors at Solera National Bancorp (SLRK) have resigned as the Lakewood, Colo., company remains embroiled in a messy public struggle with its biggest investor.

Smaller banks face a tricky choice with jumbo loans: hold them and face rate risk, or sell them to a bigger bank and risk losing a customer. An unusual arrangement between the FHLB and a REIT could offer community banks a better route.

Since the recession, banks have gradually reinvested more and more of their liquidity in securities. A handful have taken this trend to the extreme, putting nearly all of their deposits into investments and lending almost nothing. While delivering consistent, low-risk profits, the model faces pressure from regulators and the economy.

Loan demand seems to be returning, but not fast enough for many bankers and their investors. Bankers discuss the various things holding back a return to blow-out quarters of loan growth.

A New York City bank employee is in the news for going the extra mile to ensure that a local homeless man was given a proper goodbye.

The company spent years looking in vain for the right deal at the right price before finding TF Financial. The deal adds a healthy bank and a much-needed beachhead in New Jersey, though it also pushes National Penn closer to $10 billion in assets.

A group of investment firms has forced American Bancorp. into liquidation over unpaid trust-preferred debt. Creditors have threatened to go this route before but this is the first time any have followed through, serving as an ominous precedent for the up to 300 banks in danger of defaulting on the hybrid securities.

Solera National Bancorp (SLRK) lost its proxy battle at the ballot box, though the Lakewood, Colo., company still hopes it can win in the courtroom.

Poage Bankshares (PBSK) has fended off a proxy challenge from activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

Solera National in Colorado went through a messy proxy fight with its biggest shareholder. The contest prompted the company's OCC examiner to ask for an invitation to the meeting.

A funding option reopens to smaller banks.

More community banks are offering Small Business Administration loans far beyond their local markets, hoping that the income boost outweighs the long-term risk of lending in unfamiliar regions.

Harvard Illinois Bancorp (HARI) has extended its string of victories against activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

More community banks have begun offering SBA loans nationwide, a smart strategy given improving demand and double-digit premiums in the secondary loan market. Banks moving into far-flung territories have determined that they need highly targeted strategies to be successful — as well as methods for minimizing risk.