First Ipswich Bancorp in Massachusetts plans to sell its 10-story office building in downtown Boston and use the proceeds to increase lending.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass., said Friday that it has completed its $82 million acquisition of Factory Point Bancorp in Manchester Center, Vt.

Sound Community Bank in Seattle plans to go partially public.

The National Credit Union Administration's board is expected this week to approve a rule expanding member access to internal books and records.

FC Holdings in Houston says it is planning to use part of the proceeds of a large capital infusion to open two separately chartered banks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by the end of 2008.

WASHINGTON — When a bank fails, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announces it promptly, usually providing information about how customers can access their insured deposits.

Magnolia Banking Corp. in Arkansas has agreed to buy Southern State Bancshares Inc. in Malvern for $13 million.

To the Editor:

Now that it has moved its headquarters to Texas, Comerica Inc. might start buying banks there soon.

The Black Hills and Badlands region of South Dakota has emerged as a major tourist destination, and First Interstate BancSystem Inc. in Billings, Mont., wants in on the action.

Fierce competition in Los Angeles has prompted another Korean-American banking company there to search well outside its market for growth.

American National Bank of Texas, a $1.5 billion-asset Terrell subsidiary of A.N.B. Holding Co. Ltd., has a deal to acquire DNB Bancshares Inc. in Dallas.

When Home Bancshares Inc. of Conway, Ark., was in talks to buy Centennial Bancshares in Little Rock this year, negotiations hit a snag because Centennial's managers thought it was worth more than the buyer was willing to pay.

ShoreBank in Chicago has joined the list of banks offering a high-yield online-only savings account.

First Interstate BancSystem Inc. in Billings, Mont., has made a deal to buy First Western Bancorp Inc. in Huron, S.D., for $251 million in cash and stock.

MIDWEST

Frank D'Alessandro, the southwest Florida developer who was a partner with three now-failed credit unions in a multibillion-dollar land speculation, was found floating in the ocean Monday, the victim of an apparent accidental drowning.

The District of Columbia council passed the Payday Loan Consumer Protection Act of 2007 Tuesday in a vote of 12 to 1.

FNB United Corp. in Asheboro, N.C., said Tuesday that it had sold its $4 million credit card portfolio to Elan Financial Services, a division of U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis.

Banks that target minority groups, particularly Hispanics and Asian-Americans, are reporting asset growth well above the industry average, largely because of an influx of immigrants.