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Regulators have prohibited Weststar Financial Services Corp. in Asheville, N.C., from paying dividends or reducing the capital at its bank unit without permission.

Most billion-dollar community banks have skirted the surge of traditional mergers and acquisitions that has engulfed their smaller peers — until now.

BB&T Corp. has entered into a multiyear agreement with Cardtronics Inc.'s Allpoint network to expand surcharge-free ATM access to the issuer's debit cardholders in Florida and Texas.

California United Bank in Encino and California Oaks State Bank said their shareholders have approved the agreement in which California United would buy the Thousand Oaks bank.

Three community banks completed acquisitions Friday.

First Bank of the Palm Beaches has managed to maintain a middle-of-the-road status in the treacherous world of Florida banking.

ST Financial Group in College Station, Texas, has raised $15.1 million in capital through a private offering.

AmericanWest Bancorp, a $1.5 billion-asset company in Spokane, Wash., chose to clear the $6.5 million sale through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

After two weeks without any failures, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized two small banks on Friday. The banks, with $365.3 million in combined assets, are expected to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $113.1 million.

Heritage Financial Corp. in Olympia, Wash., is taking a 10% discount to its common stock to raise $50 million of fresh capital.

More companies are shuttering branches obtained in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-backed deals. In most cases, buyers took on branches in markets beyond their geographical scope, or came to a later realization that it would cost too much to maintain and compete for greater market share in single-branch markets.

Private investment-backed Cordia Bancorp Inc. has received regulatory approvals to buy a majority stake in the $219.3 million-asset Bank of Virginia.

Donegal Financial Services Corp. in Marietta, Pa., and Union Financial Corp. of Lancaster, Pa., said they need more time to complete their merger.

First Financial Bancorp in Cincinnati will close five branches obtained from failed-bank purchases.

Combined, Nara Bancorp Inc. and Center Financial Corp. in Los Angeles have 40 branches around the country and are larger in assets than the category’s current No. 1.

First State Bancorp. has spent 16 months trying to convince buyers that its deposit franchise outshines its flaws, but its time to strike a deal might be dwindling.

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, which has been building a presence in California for two years, is opening all seven of its branches in the Golden State to shared branching through the CU Service Centers Network.

Home Federal Bancorp Inc. of Shreveport, La., has launched a syndicated community offering to complete a second-step conversion.

Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, is adding $5 million of common equity to its war chest. The $7.1 billion-asset company said Wednesday that it had agreements with institutional investors to sell nearly 72,000 shares.

After almost a year in doubt, shareholders of Tower Bancorp Inc. and First Chester County Corp. in Pennsylvania on Wednesday approved Tower's pending purchase of First Chester.