TLCM Holdings LLC, a new holding company in Richardson, Texas, has agreed to acquire EJ Financial Corp. in Dallas. TLCM and EJ Financial announced the deal late Wednesday, without disclosing the price.

Members of the Community Bankers Council of the American Bankers Association in unison blasted legislative plans to toughen regulation of banks and offered alternative fixes to overdraft programs.

An Illinois banking company has agreed to submit a plan designed to improve the condition of the lender, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Following a regulatory exam, Preferred Bank in Los Angeles announced Wednesday that it will restate its third-quarter earnings, bringing its loss for the quarter to as much as $5 a share, according to one analyst's estimate.

With little competition, Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., was able to create its own playbook for a deal announced late Tuesday in which the company agreed to buy pieces of the $122 million-asset American Trust and Savings Bank in Whiting, Ind.

NEW ENGLAND

Home prices are leveling out after an unexpected rebound in the spring and summer while consumers are feeling a little better about the overall economy, according to two closely watched reports released on Tuesday.

The board of directors of United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga., said Tuesday that it was temporarily suspending its quarterly dividend to avoid further dilution of its shares and improve its liquidity.

REDLANDS, Calif.–Arrowhead Credit Union has installed an Ice Bear unit to provide demand-reducing air conditioned cooling for its branch here, and is projecting it will be able to reduce the air conditioning peak demand by more than 20% at the 5,500 square foot facility.

Sometimes the best deal is the one that doesn't happen. That appears to be the case for Sterling Bancshares in Houston, which announced this week that it had called off its 19-branch deal with First Banks Inc. The sale was set to close by Dec. 31.

After a two-month run of improvement, November charge-offs on credit cards rose about half a percentage point to 10.56%, according to Moody's Investors Service in its latest Credit Card Indices report. The delinquency rate for November also rose, to 6.2%.

Banks that are not cognizant of how many customers begin "shopping" their organizations on their Web sites are not paying enough attention.

Pacific Capital Bancorp Inc. plans to sell its tax division — its most profitable line — after regulators blocked the company from making new tax loans in the coming year.

In letters commenting on the Fed's proposed compensation guidance, community bankers argue they did not pay the exorbitant bonuses that have fueled widespread anger at Wall Street and do not have the resources to review their pay programs as thoroughly as the central bank would like.

First Chester County Corp. executives have decided that selling the bank at a steep discount to another Pennsylvania company is a better option than remaining an independent, struggling institution.

Unable to gain timely regulatory approval, Metro Bancorp Inc. has again delayed its acquisition of Republic First Bancorp Inc. in Philadelphia.

Regulators ordered Santa Barbara Bank & Trust to stop making refund anticipation loans through Jackson Hewitt, causing the tax-services company's shares to tumble.

Cascade Bancorp said Wednesday night that it planned to withdraw a stock offering meant to raise at least $93 million.

A recent failed-bank deal has handed the FDIC an opportunity to play the stock market — something the regulator will probably do more of in the coming year.

A recent failed-bank deal has handed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. an opportunity to play the stock market — something the regulator will probably do more of in the coming year.