In the past two years IronStone Bank of Fort Myers, Fla., has devoted much of its resources to expanding into far-flung markets — from Austin to Sacramento to Portland, Ore. — but it plans to spend 2005 settling down.

Whitney Holding Corp. said Wednesday that it is buying Destin Bancshares Inc., a move that will bolster the New Orleans company’s operations in the fast-growing Florida Panhandle.

MIDWEST

Sandy Spring Bancorp said Tuesday that it has appointed Philip J. Mantua as its chief financial officer.

Once the final terms have been agreed to, bank merger and acquisition deals rarely fall through. But lately there has been a flurry of second thoughts.

Two years after entering the United States, R&G Financial Corp. of San Juan said Tuesday that it would more than double its mainland operations by buying 18 branches from SouthTrust Corp.

Though Gold Banc Corp.’s deal to sell to a Kansas investment group has collapsed, the Leawood, Kan., company still seems likely to sell itself within the next year.

Texas Regional Bancshares Inc. plans to acquire a three-branch Dallas thrift.

Federal banking regulators are objecting to a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal that would implement the broker-dealer provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

The Kansas investor group that called off its deal for Gold Banc Corp. has submitted a lower offer to Gold's board, which was expected to consider it over the weekend, according to sources familiar with the deal.

WASHINGTON — A strange thing is happening in the credit union business: Just when the government is making it easier for people to join the cooperatives, membership growth rates are slowing.

The seven Florida credit unions that recently formed a credit union service organization to manage their small-business portfolios are small-time players in commercial lending, but the move has some Sunshine State community banks worried.

Mercantile Bank Corp. in Holland, Mich., reported record third-quarter earnings Thursday, despite a $845,000 charge taken in connection with the early payment of $16 million of trust-preferred securities.

Federal regulators have fined Colombo Bank of Rockville, Md., $10,000 for alleged violations to the Bank Secrecy Act and ordered it to strengthen its anti-money-laundering policies and procedures.

Ryan Beck & Co. of Livingston, N.J., initiated coverage for three Ohio banks on Wednesday and said they stand to benefit from the state’s improving economy.

As Floridians pick up the pieces after four hurricanes in a month, loan volume is rising, and so, to a lesser extent, are deposits.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

With a goal of goosing loan growth, banks in California, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest are hiring commercial lenders who recently lost their jobs at Washington Mutual Inc.

GB&T Bancshares Inc. of Gainesville, Ga., is acquiring the $115 million-asset FNBG Bancshares Inc. of Duluth for $27.4 million.