Community banks that sell mortgages to Wells Fargo & Co. through a partnership with the American Bankers Association can expect the relationship to continue for at least another year.

In the fall of 2008, Al Zezulinski, at NCO Group Inc., would have expected bad-debt sales to have improved more than a year later. "We’re not seeing it,” says the executive vice president at the Horsham, Pa.-based accounts receivable management company.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. in Huntington, W.Va., has agreed to buy the struggling Abigail Adams National Bancorp Inc. in Washington for $10.9 million in stock.

Shares of Flagstar Bancorp Inc. soared Friday after the company announced that it would bypass shareholder approval for a placement of private capital that hinges on its ability to get money from the Treasury.

Rusty Cloutier has heard the word "bailout" more often than he can stand.

Guaranty Financial Group Inc. in Austin, Tex., has sold its wholly owned insurance subsidiary to JLT Insurance Agency Holdings Inc. for about $40 million.

MILWAUKEE, Wis.-Credit unions considering tapping into capital this year to build new locations should like the price tag, said one strategic planner who suggested that timing of branch openings will be key to their long-term success.

CapitalSource Inc. enjoys a tax advantage as a real estate investment trust, but it is willing to give that up to accelerate loan growth, lower its funding costs, and gain access to a larger infusion of government capital.

NEW ENGLAND

Green Bankshares Inc. in Greeneville, Tenn., is warning that it expects to report a fourth-quarter loss of up to $16 million because of deteriorating credit quality.

A conversation with a banker last month reminded me of some of my discussions long ago with one of my first banking mentors.

First Financial Bancorp in Cincinnati said late Tuesday that it expects to report increases in net chargeoffs and past-due loans when it releases its fourth-quarter and full-year results next month.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued cease-desist-orders against eight state-chartered banks and thrifts in November, including one, the $5 billion-asset Franklin Bank in Houston, that has already failed.

Pacific State Bancorp said Tuesday that Steven A. Rosso has resigned as its chief executive officer and the president of its Pacific State Bank.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corp. in New Jersey announced after the market closed Tuesday that it will likely take an other-than-temporary impairment charge for the fourth quarter on its portfolio of trust-preferred pooled securities.

Under orders from its regulator to increase capital by the end of next quarter, Seacoast National Bank in Stuart, Fla., is getting a boost from the Treasury Department.

With bad loans mounting, Freedom Bancshares Inc. in Commerce, Ga., has hired an investment banker to review its strategic options, and its bank has received a cease-and-desist order from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.

Mid Penn Bank in Millersburg, Pa., warned Monday that it expects to record two hefty fourth-quarter expenses: a $700,000 provision for loan losses and a $478,000 severance payment for its former chief executive officer.

Troubled or start-up banks that need a capital infusion should not bother calling Patriot Financial Partners LP in Philadelphia.