Robert Barba

First Community Bank Corp. of America is aiming to raise capital to immediately boost capital levels at its thrift and amass cash for further capital needs.

Sometimes the best deal is the one that doesn't happen. That appears to be the case for Sterling Bancshares in Houston, which announced this week that it had called off its 19-branch deal with First Banks Inc. The sale was set to close by Dec. 31.

Pacific Capital Bancorp Inc. plans to sell its tax division — its most profitable line — after regulators blocked the company from making new tax loans in the coming year.

First Chester County Corp. executives have decided that selling the bank at a steep discount to another Pennsylvania company is a better option than remaining an independent, struggling institution.

The main culprit in last week's demise of Independent Bankers' Bank in Springfield, Ill., was not an ailing loan portfolio but poorly performing investments in other banks.

Patriot National Bancorp Inc., in recently sizing up two suitors, ultimately chose a creative option that will reward shareholders based on future results rather than a rival deal providing a higher up-front share price.

The selling spree at Capitol Bancorp continues. The company announced Thursday that it has a definitive agreement to sell Mountain View Bank of Commerce in Colorado ...

Despite raising nearly $620 million in capital this year, Flagstar Bancorp announced that it will be turning to shareholders for as much as $500 million through a rights offering.

The troubled Amcore Financial Inc. in Rockford, Ill., announced Monday that it sold $135 million of loans. The now $4 billion-asset company said in a press release that the loans were not strategic or relationship oriented.

It is tough enough to raise capital as a troubled community bank. Try doing it as a mutually owned thrift. That is the task facing Lincoln Park Savings Bank, which is undercapitalized because of massive losses on construction loans.

MidSouth Bancorp Inc. in Lafayette, La., is looking to raise as much as $34.5 million in fresh capital, and it may use it to make acquisitions.

HUD to lift 1% cap on FHA origination fees; RealtyTrac reports fourth straight month-to-month drop in foreclosure filings; and more.

MB Financial Inc. in Chicago said it has approved large salary increases for its two highest-paid employees, because as a participant in the Troubled Asset Relief Program it cannot continue to pay them bonuses.

Starting Jan. 1 institutions that are less than well-capitalized must comply with new restrictions on deposit rates. They will not be allowed to pay more than 75 basis points over a national average calculated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

On Tuesday, the $1.5 billion-asset company filed a registration statement that would allow it to raise up to $20 million by extending rights to its shareholders to buy new common shares.

A month after announcing plans to raise $20 million, Emclaire Financial Corp. in Emlenton, Pa., has called off its stock offering.

Midwest Banc Holdings Inc. is the second company in less than a week to suggest there could be some government relief forthcoming for those that received funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but are now struggling.

A fresh shot of capital has moved Mercantile Bancorp Inc.'s Florida unit back into regulators' good graces.

Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin has been tossed a private-equity life ring, but the company must persuade one of its lenders and the Treasury Department to help reel it in.

American River Bankshares in Sacramento announced Monday that it has begun a stock offering to raise up to $25.3 million.