For years, small-town bankers have lamented the impact of depopulation on their communities — and their banks.

Center Bancorp Inc. in Union, N.J., said Friday that it has a deal to buy Beacon Trust Co. in Madison, N.J., for $10.3 million in cash and stock.

WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank expressed support for a national catastrophic reinsurance fund to help stabilize insurance markets after natural disasters.

William Isaac is selling Secura Group LLC of Vienna, Va., to the Emeryville, Calif., consulting firm LECG Corp.

NEW ENGLAND

Umpqua Holdings Corp.'s chief executive, Raymond P. Davis, has always considered himself a retailer and a marketer, not a banker.

Fox Chase Bank in Hatboro, Pa., had been a traditional thrift making mostly mortgages for well over a century before it began ramping up its commercial real estate and construction lending in 2002.

The top executive at CenterState Bank West Florida in Zephyrhills has abruptly resigned, the bank's parent company said Wednesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

FC Holdings Inc. chief executive Nigel Harrison’s stated goal is to aggressively expand his Houston company through acquisitions and sell it for what he hopes will be top dollar in seven to 10 years.

Iberiabank Corp.'s entry into Arkansas with two February acquisitions and its commitment to rebuilding New Orleans should help the Louisiana company reach its 2007 earnings goals, an analyst says.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd., which owns majority stakes in more than 50 small banks in 14 states, announced Tuesday the opening of its newest one, in Palm Desert, Calif.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd. of Lansing, Mich., named Gregory R. Bixby to succeed David J. Dutton as chief information officer, after Mr. Dutton announced he will retire March 31.

IronStone Bank in Fort Myers, Fla., said Monday that it plans to enter Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma and expand in Texas.

OceanFirst Financial Corp. in Toms River, N.J., announced Monday that it would restate earnings for the 12 months that ended Dec. 31.

A mutual savings bank in La Porte, Ind., is doing an initial public offering so it can buy another bank — an unusual transaction that analysts said they expect to see happen more often.

BCSB Bankcorp Inc. in Baltimore said Friday that a recent payment by its insurance provider has helped it recoup some losses from an alleged check-kiting scheme.

The only black-owned bank in Texas has ambitions of becoming the nation's largest, but it will not be easy for the $51 million-asset Unity National Bank of Houston.

Standard & Poor's Corp. said this week that it plans to add United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga., to the S&P SmallCap 600 index.

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