CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NCUA this morning liquidated tiny Shepherd's FCU, a year-old community development credit union, in the latest sign of the difficulties facing small credit unions.

Alabama's BancTrust Financial has abandoned a bid to raise private equity funds. As bank-acquirers circle, a deal could say a lot about the state of M&A.

Citigroup Inc. (C) is reducing its stake in a Turkish bank and its earnings will take a hit because the value of the investment has declined.

In what would be just the second acquisition in its 49-year-history, FNB Bancorp in South San Francisco has struck a deal to buy Oceanic Bank Holding in San Francisco.

Yahoo said it would appoint three new independent directors to its board in April, including an executive from American Express.

In its first-ever auction of preferred stock acquired through TARP, Treasury is seeking to sell stakes in Banner Corp. (BANR) of Walla Walla, Wash., First Financial Holdings (FFCH) of Charleston, S.C.; MainSource Financial (MSFG) of Greensburg, Ind.; Seacoast Banking (SBCF) of Stuart, Fla.; Wilshire Bancorp (WIBC) of Los Angeles; and WSFS Financial (WSFS) of Wilmington, Del.

Behind closed doors they live in a constant state of fear, ducking calls from bank and servicing representatives, opening certified letters with shaking hands.

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Southern National Bancorp of Virginia (SONA) has received a warning from the Nasdaq that the McLean company is not in compliance with listing requirements after it failed to file an annual report.

Cross County Federal Savings Bank in Middle Village, N.Y., is converting to a state charter from a federal charter.

Banks with less than $1 billion in capital are essentially locked out of the private equity market, due to existing laws such as the Bank Holding Company Act. A group of investment bankers, lawyers, and even some regulators want to make changes.

State regulators closed two banks on Friday, bringing the year's tally to 15. The two failures, in Georgia and Illinois, are expected to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $ 95.6 million.

I am sad to see Cam Fine of the Independent Community Bankers of America resort personal attacks on me and my firm in response to my comment, "TAG Actually Gives Big Banks the Advantage." I can imagine that my comment stung a bit, but Cam and all of the people at ICBA know that I am one of the most vocal advocates for community banks in the U.S. Indeed, our firm is focusing a great deal of time and effort to help small banks raise capital and compete with the too-big-to-fail banks.

The consumer bureau's student-loan ombudsman told bankers this week that problems facing the sector could have long-lasting effects on the economy for years to come.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Wells Fargo & Co. of failing to produce documents relating to an investigation of the bank’s mortgage-backed securities. Wells called the SEC's subpoena enforcement action "inappropriate and unwarranted."

Community West Bancshares in Goleta, Calif., has yet another chief executive, marking its third CEO in less than a year.

The first director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau discusses tradeoffs between enforcement and rulemaking, being responsive to consumers without being biased and the five-letter acronym known as UDAAP.

Green Dot's Steven Streit on why nontraditional players such as his company will continue to dominate the prepaid card market.

The Federal Reserve Board has entered into written agreements with two community banks: Remer Bancorp. in Minnesota and Orrstown Financial Services in Shippensburg, Pa.

Wells Fargo has thrown down the gauntlet on the correspondent market, creating an "exclusionary list" of 88 firms that it will no longer buy loans from. How are lenders reacting so far? With a mixture of fear of being on the list and an indifferent "so what?"