The $1.5 billion-asset bank issued $25 million of subordinated notes due 2025 in a private placement. WashingtonFirst used the proceeds to redeem $8.9 million in SBLF preferred shares, which it issued to the Treasury Department in 2011.

Traditional banks avoid the short-term-credit market because its customers demand a level of customer service that is inconsistent with current models of retail banking, the head of a payday lending group writes.

Boston Private Financial Holdings has appointed a Silicon Valley executive to its board.

The Delaware company reported nominal profit in the second quarter as it attempted to sell off its commercial loans and address concerns listed in a year-old regulatory order.

Capital Commerce Bancorp in Milwaukee has raised more than $11 million through a private placement.

Middlefield Banc Corp. in Middlefield, Ohio, has bought out its largest shareholder.

Empowering women to become more financially independent has been a hallmark of Lori Chillingworth's career as a small-business banker. Now she's on an even bigger mission: to help more women in Utah gain seats on corporate boards and compete for political office.

A group of private investors has agreed to buy Radius Bancorp in Boston.

Republic Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., has agreed to buy Cornerstone Bancorp in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's impending proposal, to be reviewed by a small business advisory panel, would block companies from using arbitration clauses to avoid class actions but allow them for individuals.

MBT Bancorp in Monroe, Mich., is planning to close four branches. The $1.3 billion-asset company also said it would stop offering retail services at a corporate office in Wyandotte, Mich.

A pair of community banks have lined up funding through separate subordinated-debt agreements with a firm in the Cayman Islands.

Independence Bancshares in South Carolina last week fired its CEO and gave up its dreams of shaking up the payments world after losing nearly $9 million on the effort. Many details are still unknown, but it looks like a case study for what can go wrong when community banks invest in technology.

Sunshine Bancorp in Plant City, Fla., has hired another former executive from the former Susquehanna Bancshares in Lititz, Pa.

Marlin Business Services in Mount Laurel, N.J., has partnered with property and casualty insurer Hartford Financial Services Group to expand services for its core clientèle.

The pace of bank M&A deals slowed in the third quarter and was flat through the first nine months of this year.

A looming dividend spike tied to the Small Business Lending Fund convinced Hopewell Valley Community Bank in Pennington, N.J., to sell itself.

What happens when big banks move into a market? Is it a good idea to partner with online lenders? How much of a problem are ag loans? Those questions were among the many addressed by researchers at the recent community banking conference in St. Louis hosted by the Federal Reserve and Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., has agreed to buy a portfolio of health care loans from United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga.

First Cecilian Bancorp in Cecilia, Ky., has agreed to buy Farmers Bancshares in Hardinsburg, Ky.