Marissa Fajt

Ranjana Clark, recently named as head of global transaction banking for MUFG Americas Holding Corp., led the rollout of a tool aimed at creating a better customer service experience for employees and customers alike.

Over the past year, State Street Corp. Chief Marketing Officer Hannah Grove has implemented a new “Follow the Sun” strategy for the marketing department, adding hires in Poland and India in an effort to cut costs that has yielded unexpected benefits.

A Nebraska banking veteran put up $1 million of her own money to create a microlending program that doesn't require business owners to provide traditional collateral.

As banks grow and their business models become more complex, some find that adding a general counsel to the staff makes sense. Bank SNB in Stillwater, Okla., says hiring one allowed it to reduce its legal fees by 80%. Here are the pros and cons.

Many bank chief executives are nearing retirement, and a big test will be finding their successors.

Charter Financial Corp. of West Point, Ga., has opted for a road less traveled after shareholders balked at its plan to convert to a fully public company.

First Community Bancshares Inc. in Bluefield, Va., has turned the corner in dealing with its securities portfolio and is now setting its sights on acquisitions in the Southeast.

After swinging to a first-quarter loss, PacWest Bancorp in San Diego — with a cleaned-up balance sheet — may be better poised to resume making winning bids for failed banks.

While the company's purchase of the failed $237-million asset Butler Bank in Lowell, Mass., Friday wasn't the home run analysts had been anticipating, they expect more winning bids from the capital-rich People's as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seeks institutions with experience in failed-bank deals.

Bank of Hawaii Corp. in Honolulu reported Monday that first-quarter earnings increased roughly 46%, to $52.7 million, compared with a year earlier. The rise was partly because of lower credit costs and higher net interest income.

Southwest Bancorp Inc. in Stillwater, Okla., said Monday that it had earned $3.3 million in the first quarter, more than 11 times its year-earlier profit.

Commerce Bancshares Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., said its first-quarter earnings rose 43% from a year earlier, to $44.2 million.

These are not easy days for community banks in Georgia and Florida, but signs of hope are springing. This week in Georgia Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie announced plans to raise nearly $74 million in fresh capital via a public offering, and Gwinnett Community Bank said it raised $5 million from members of its community.

Green Bancorp Inc. announced Monday that it will receive $115 million in fresh capital from a group of private-equity firms, positioning the Houston company to become a significant acquirer in Texas.

Meridian Interstate Bancorp Inc. in East Boston, Mass., received permission to repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding shares.

Four Wachovia Corp. veterans plan to build a major regional bank in the Carolinas and Virginia, and are putting a twist on the strategy similar groups are using.

Sheshunoff Consulting and Solutions has acquired the consulting subsidiary of United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga.

Central Valley Community Bancorp in Fresno, Calif., filed Tuesday to register roughly 1.3 million shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Add Independent Bank in Ionia, Mich., to the list of companies that have successfully renegotiated the Treasury Department's investment under Tarp.

A research note from Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP last week said the $1.3 billion-asset company was required to increase capital levels, reduce problem assets, reduce exposure to construction and land loans and create a liquidity management plan.