Paul Davis

The New York company also reported a wider net interest margin and lower noninterest expenses.

Northwest, which produced lackuster first-quarter results, said it will close all 44 offices of Northwest Consumer Discount Co. by mid-July. The unit’s loans will be transferred to Northwest’s bank for servicing and collections.

Christy Romero, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and two other government entities were involved in a probe that led Lamar Cox, former chief operating officer at Tennessee Commerce Bank, to plead guilty to misleading the FDIC.

The West Virginia company sold the mortgages to Residential Funding and ResCap Liquidating Trust between 2003 and 2007.

The Florida company relied on loan growth and loan sales to offset higher expenses and ongoing issues in its taxi medallion lending operations.

Sierra will pay $36 million for the parent of the $257 million-asset Ojai Community Bank in a deal that should close by the end of this year.

Forecasts for better times ahead in banking have sellers wanting more and buyers pursuing less.

The California company's credit issues eased some in the first quarter, though earnings were down from a year earlier due to charges tied to cost cutting and reductions in three loan categories.

Executives at BB&T, KeyCorp and Citizens are milking commercial lending niches and balancing cost control with new investments while waiting for more rate hikes to fatten margins.

The deal is the latest coastal acquisition for United Community. For HCSB, the sale is the final chapter in a turnaround that began 13 months earlier.