Finance

Esquire Bank, a Garden City, N.Y., bank that specializes in financial services for law firms, has raised $19.1 million in a private placement of common stock.

Bankwell Financial Group in New Canaan, Conn., has issued $25.5 million in subordinated debt and it plans to exit the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Activist investor Joseph Stilwell is demanding that Carroll Bancorp in Sykesville, Md., pick up the pace on stock buybacks.

The recapitalization will allow City National Bank to continue as a certified Community Development Financial Institution, the bank said.

The $120 million-asset mutual thrift filed its application with federal regulators this month. Citizens expects the formation to be completed by the first quarter, Chief Executive Tommy Johnson said in an interview.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has promoted Amrit Sekhon to deputy comptroller for capital and regulatory policy.

FNBH Bancorp in Michigan has been unable to make an important move without its primary regulator's OK in the six years since its nonperforming assets hit double digits. It's an extreme example of the tension between past problems and future visions that freezes many banks.

Bryn Mawr Bank in Pennsylvania has issued $30 million in subordinated debt.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called for dismantling the Dodd-Frank Act Thursday night during the first Republican primary debate.

Coast Bancorp has sold two buildings next to its bank's headquarters in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and has refinanced debt.

Summit Financial Group in Moorefield, W.Va., said its employee stock-ownership plan has acquired a stake in the company from a Louisiana bank.

The first stress tests for regional banks show loan losses closely in line with the postcrisis period. However, an independent analysis suggests losses likely would be even higher.

The House of Representatives has already passed two strong bills (the Protecting Cyber Networks Act and the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act). We are now urging the Senate to take up and pass the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S. 754) as soon as possible.

First Foundation in Irvine, Calif., has begun an initial public offering to raise up to $100 million.

The bank plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including possible acquisitions such as potential FDIC-assisted transactions. Iberiabank may also use the proceeds for working capital and for investments in subsidiaries to support continued growth.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has filed a shelf registration for senior notes to help pay for its acquisition of a South Carolina bank.

While rising rates may temporarily improve net interest margin and profits, they will not increase bank stock prices for at least three reasons.

Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville, Tenn., plans to raise $60 million in subordinated debt in a private placement.

A fifth of the financial institutions that participated in the Small Business Lending Fund have fully left the program and an increasing number of banks are joining them before the dividend rate jumps to 9% next year.

Despite the doomsday predictions for banks and acquirers five years ago, the Durbin amendment hasn’t dramatically shaken up the business models of the payments industry.