Laredo National Bank’s newest mortgage program is targeting soon-to-be-retiring baby boomers who dream of owning resort property along Mexico’s beaches.

First Farmers Bank and Trust of Converse, Ind., has agreed to acquire three branches from the $107 billion-asset Fifth Third Bancorp, of Cincinnati.

Jose A. Infante resigned this week as the chairman, president, and chief executive of the $225 million-asset Community Shores Bank Corp. of Muskegon, Mich., and joined Independent Bank West Michigan of Grand Rapids as a senior vice president.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. in Kalispell, Mont., has made its first deal for a Utah bank.

The National Credit Union Administration’s abrupt decision to delay the release of a highly anticipated final rule underscores the agency’s awkward position in the debate over credit union expansion into underserved areas.

Mercantile Bancorp Inc. of Quincy, Ill., said it had agreed to buy Royal Palm Bancorp Inc. of Naples, Fla., for $44.4 million in cash.

NEW ENGLAND

America's Community Bankers said it has added 15 banking stocks to its Nasdaq bank index.

Here's an unusual way to capture the attention of potential customers: Advertise without mentioning your bank's name.

First Mariner Bancorp in Baltimore took a chance on a business line that many other banking companies were exiting when it established its consumer finance unit, Finance Maryland, in 2002.

Gateway Financial Holdings Inc. in Elizabeth City, N.C., is counting on its new mortgage unit to boost its sluggish performance ratios.

People's Bank of Bridgeport, Conn., touched off a rally in its stock Friday by saying it will file for a federal thrift charter to position itself for growth outside its home state.

Marshall BankFirst Corp. of Minneapolis, which has built a business on making commercial real estate loans, now wants to diversify its portfolio by more than doubling its commercial and industrial loans over the next year.

When Eldon Arnold was first hired at Citizens Equity First Credit Union in 1965, there wasn't even a desk for him.

16 CUs Sign With Elan

Credit unions typically are known for lowering costs to their members, so why is one credit union trying to encourage its members to pay more than they have to? Because it's in their best interest, when it comes to making credit card payments.

The Credit Union Journal is announcing its Call for Entries for its Best Practices awards. The Journal published its inaugural Best Practices issue in November 2005 and featured nearly two-dozen peer-leading ideas as selected by the editors.

Sally McKnight, President of Houston Federal Credit Union, said she will retire in June, 2006 after 37 years in credit unions.

While credit card issuing has historically provided substantial revenues to financial services providers, recent changes in a variety of consumer behaviors-including a continued shift to debit cards and growing adoption of prepaid cards-are creating a more challenging revenue environment, according to research by TowerGroup.