COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – SAC FCU held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday for a new branch in a local Wal-Mart, its third branch in the city.

Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc. painted a grim picture of its finances this week. The $4.4 billion-asset company in Madison said Tuesday that it was considered undercapitalized by regulatory standards as of March 31.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

The largest Korean-American and Chinese-American banks, clustered in Southern California, are successfully raising capital, surprising competitors with last-minute infusions even while some operate under regulatory orders.

Fueled by more than $400 million in capital, Bond Street pulled Miami's Premier American out of the rubble in January and leveraged it to make two other federally assisted deals, most recently grabbing the failed Peninsula Bank in Englewood last Friday.

Former Bank of America Corp. Vice Chairman R. Eugene Taylor has spent the past six months searching for a bank to buy — only to return to whence he came.

I like to ask folks to think of their least-positive customer interaction or sales call during the previous month. I suggest to them that even the most cringe-worthy of recent impressions can likely be (at least somewhat) salvaged the next time you interact with that person.

The $1.7 billion-asset company announced late Tuesday that North American Financial Holdings Inc., led by former Bank of America Corp. executive Eugene Taylor, would invest $175 million in the company so that it can shore up its undercapitalized bank unit.

NEW YORK – Actors FCU has signed with Allpoint Network, a unit of Cardtronics, to provide branded surcharge-free access to 215 New York ATM locations, including 200 McDonald’s restaurants throughout the New York City metro area.

Solera National Bancorp Inc. in Lakewood, Colo., is getting into the mortgage business on its own. The $137 million-asset company announced Tuesday that it has begun originating residential mortgage to its customers.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announced Tuesday that OptimumBank Holdings Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has signed an agreement to maintain financial soundness.

Most bankers agree that online lending applications can attract customers and drive up volume, but few actually offer such services.

Community bankers have been thirsting for more merger and acquisition activity, and Eastern's announcement Tuesday that it has agreed to pay $163 million for Wainwright is the second-biggest proposed bank acquisition of the year.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va. publicly traded debt buyer, today announced that a Missouri court dismissed a case filed in August 2009 by the Missouri Attorney General's office against the company and its subsidiary, Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC.

Wainwright Bank & Trust Co. has agreed to be acquired for about $163 million — twice the company's previous value — by privately held Eastern Bank Corp., merging a pair of eastern Massachusetts lenders.

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday issued enforcement actions against two community banks in New York. According to separate agreements, the $2.4 billion-asset Smithtown Bancorp Inc. and the $393 million-asset BNB Financial Services Corp. will no longer be able to declare or pay dividends without prior approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

All is not well in "credit union land," as insiders half-jokingly call the industry, and the challenges have prevented credit unions from taking advantage of bank stumbles.

Sheyenne Bancorp Inc. is applying for bank holding company status from the Federal Reserve to buy out a bank in North Dakota. Sheyenne would become a subsidiary of First Holding Company of Park River Inc., which filed the application with the Federal Reserve June 22.

Despite analysts' skepticism, it appears Banner Corp. of Walla Walla, Wash., is advancing in its attempts to raise capital. The $4.6 billion-asset company announced late last week that it would sell 75 million shares of common stock at $2 a share.

After its long-running merger talks collapsed in March, Republic First Bancorp Inc. in Philadelphia today finds itself in a more fortunate position than many banks — it has a Plan B.