It's fashionable to say that community banks need to bulk up to better absorb compliance costs and compete with larger banks, but not all bankers agree. At a panel discussion at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium Monday, three CEOs argued that small banks can thrive by remaining hyperfocused on the communities they serve, while continually finding ways to grow revenues and control expenses.

Mitch Feiger, CEO of MB Financial, along with Mark Hoppe, former Taylor CEO, reflect on the merger, the regulatory environment and keeping key people happy in the highly competitive Chicago market.

Albina Community Bancorp in Portland, Ore., has filed for bankruptcy.

The purchase of Santa Barbara Tax Products Group is the latest move by the prepaid card pioneer designed to lessen its dependence on retail giant Wal-Mart.

Green Dot plans to acquire Santa Barbara Tax Products Group for about $320 million, a move that will allow the prepaid card provider to add tax refund processing services through partnerships with tax preparers.

Prosperity Bancshares and Hancock Holding knew they would lose significant interchange income when they hit the $10 billion mark, but they were not quite ready for the increased regulatory scrutiny that came with that growth.

Park Cities Financial Group announced Wednesday that it is buying CU Bancshares in Dallas and its subsidiary, the $593 million-asset Town North Bank.

The $5.2 billion-asset company intends to use the proceeds from its sale of subordinated notes for general purposes, it said in a press release Wednesday.

First Financial Bancorp in Cincinnati has added two directors from recent acquisitions in Columbus, Ohio.

Capital Bank Financial shares a problem with other investor-backed companies built to make a lot of bank acquisitions: their stocks trade at low premiums because they are overcapitalized, but they are unable to deploy their capital in M&A deals because of those low stock values.

Wilcox Bancshares in Grand Rapids, Minn., has purchased Crow River State Bank in Delano, Minn.

Albina Community Bancorp is one of few lenders to recapitalize and sell its bank despite an overhang of trust-preferred debt at the parent company. Still, an investor is threatening to force involuntary bankruptcy — a sign of just how tough it is for banks to escape the trust-preferred trap.

CertusBank in Greenville, S.C., has agreed to sell its mortgage and wealth businesses as it tries to move past its history of high expenses and heavy losses.

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. — SJB Federal Credit Union has merged into Southern Mass Credit Union in Fairhaven, Mass., creating an institution with approximately $207 million in assets.

Yield-seeking investors have fueled a niche bond business that is financing community banks, through the sale of higher-risk, subordinated debt. It is unclear whether the banks need all that capital.

Pilgrim Bancorp. in Mount Pleasant, Texas, has agreed to buy North Central Texas Bancshares in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Compensation, long believed to be the top motivating factor in loan officers' choice of where to hang their licenses, was a runner-up to concerns about professionalism and quality, according to a new survey.

Ron Hermance, chairman and chief executive of Hudson City Bancorp in Paramus, N.J., has died.

National Bank of Commerce in Birmingham, Ala., has purchased a majority interest in CBI Holding Co.

City National Bank of New Jersey has agreed to sell deposits and loans associated with a branch on New York's Long Island to Bethpage Federal Credit Union.