Brickell Bank in Miami has bought a trade finance portfolio from the investment brokerage firm INTL FCStone.

Blue Ridge Bankshares in Luray, Va., has agreed to buy River Bancorp in Martinsville, Va.

Franklin Financial Network in Franklin, Tenn., plans a debt issuance to pay for its recently completed exit from the Small Business Lending Fund and to fund other activities.

The management team at Western Alliance Bancorp. has decades of experience with hotel development. The company's pending purchase of a large loan book — and expansion into national hotel lending — will be scrutinized in coming years.

First State Bank of DeKalb County in Fort Payne, Ala., has agreed to buy First Bank of the South in Rainsville, Ala.

Huntington Bancshares has partnered with the owner of the NBA's Detroit Pistons to provide $25 million in financial support in Flint, Mich., in response to the city's drinking water crisis.

State Street has agreed to buy General Electric's asset management unit for as much as $485 million.

Western Alliance Bancorp. in Phoenix has agreed to buy GE Capital's hotel franchise finance loan portfolio.

ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

A recent meeting with the OCC is giving mutual thrifts hope that they can find a way to bring in more capital before the next recession. The OCC, while open to a solution, is keen to protect the rights of those institutions' deposit holders.

Buyers of certain syndicated corporate loans have had an incentive to drag their feet closing trades; they will soon pay a hefty price if they don't do their part. The reform should help lenders get assets off their books faster.

With energy stocks enjoying the biggest rebound since the beginning of the oil rout, short sellers have shifted their sights to regional banks that do business with the industry.

Bay Banks of Virginia in Kilmarnock has increased the size of its fourth-quarter loss, after a commercial borrower pleaded guilty to creating false financial statements.

First Sentry Bancshares in Huntington, W.Va., said it will pay $7.4 million in cash and stock to buy the $75 million-asset Rock Branch Community Bank in Nitro, W.Va.

Hometown Community Bancorp in Morton, Ill., has agreed to buy Illini Corp. in Springfield, Ill.

Community Financial Corp. in Waldorf, Md., has agreement to support a director nominated by the activist investor Basswood Capital Management.

Restrictions on bank ownership act as a de facto poison pill, discouraging potential activist investors from challenging underperforming bank managers. Ease those restrictions and the market will do its job.

Royal Financial in Chicago has agreed to sell $25.8 million of distressed assets associated with its pending purchase of Park Bancorp in Chicago.

Sterling Bancorp in Montebello, N.Y., plans to raise $105 million in a debt sale to fuel potential acquisitions of commercial lenders.

Roughly 90 banks that participated in the government's lending program still owe money to the Treasury Department and face a massive dividend increase. Many of those could view selling as a better alternative to raising new capital.