Farm Credit System lenders have finally won permission from their regulator to bid on the assets of failed banks.

The Small Business Administration has named 15 individuals from the worlds of business, academia, economic development and politics to a newly created council that will advise the SBA on ways to stimulate economic growth in low-income areas and better serve disadvantaged communities.

ViewPoint Financial Group Inc. in Plano, Tex., has announced that longtime President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Base will retire at the end of this year.

Mounting problems in its construction loan portfolio have forced NASB Financial Inc. in Grandview, Mo., to restate earnings for its fiscal first quarter and delay reporting its second-quarter earnings.

Trustmark Corp. in Jackson, Miss., said Tuesday that Daniel Grafton has become chairman of both the company and Trustmark Bank.

F.N.B. Corp. in Hermitage, Pa., plans to sell 4.5 million shares of common stock to raise capital. The $9.8 billion-asset company said late Tuesday that the offering is being held in conjunction with its inclusion in the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 index after the market closes Friday.

First National Corp. in Strasburg, Va., has hired a veteran banker, Scott Harvard, as its chief executive. Harvard, the chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, is also the CEO of the First Bank unit of First National.

The activist investor Richard Lashley believes that the mutual holding company structure should be extinct and that all mutuals should operate as fully public companies.

Alliant Financial Corp. in Birmingham, Ala., said Tuesday that it has hired a former BankUnited Corp. officer to become the chief executive of its bank.

First Commonwealth Financial Corp. in Indiana, Pa., on Tuesday restated its first-quarter earnings downward. With the restatement the $5.8 billion-asset company's earnings were 23% lower, at $5.2 million.

Wilshire Bancorp Inc. in Los Angeles is planning to raise up to $115 million in a public offering. The $2.8 billion-asset company said it plans to sell $100 million with an over-allotment option for another $15 million shares of common stock.

Polonia Bancorp's biggest outside shareholder on Monday demanded that the thrift company launch a second-step conversion.

The parent company of the investment firm Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. is planning to enter the banking business.

Coming off a weak first quarter, BancorpSouth Inc. in Tupelo, Miss., announced Tuesday that it would close or consolidate 23 underperforming branches this year.

Trustmark Corp. in Jackson, Miss., announced Tuesday that it has named board member Daniel Grafton as chairman of both the company and its main subsidiary, Trustmark Bank.

The FDIC may soon have another option for resolving failed banks whose assets include farm loans. Traditional banks are not welcoming the expected change.

The parent company of the investment firm Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. is planning to enter the banking business.

Coming off a weak first quarter, BancorpSouth in Tupelo, Miss., announced Tuesday that it is planning to close or consolidate 23 underperforming branches later this year.

Integra Bank Corp. in Evansville, Ind., said that another large loss in the first quarter has left its bank critically undercapitalized.

The $2.4 billion-asset company said late Friday that it had filed a registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval to start selling stock in July.