Florida

CenterState Banks Inc. in Davenport, Fla., has sold off a chunk of nonperforming loans in a deal that it says would free up capital that it could use for future expansion.

The state's banking market is still seriously impaired, but foreign banks are increasingly attracted to it for the same reason — and their arrival may feed the turnaround.

Anchor Commercial Bank in Juno Beach, Fla., is close to raising $20 million in capital from a group of South Florida investors.

Regulators shut the $340 million-asset McIntosh State Bank in Jackson, Ga., and the $98 million-asset First Commercial Bank of Tampa Bay, bringing the failure total this year to 47.

Loan production offices lost popularity among community bankers during the financial crisis. A need for growth, amid intense competition, could bring them back in force.

Signaling its intention to continue growing in Florida, Stearns Bank in St. Cloud, Minn., has named veteran banker Tramm Hudson as the president of its Florida operation.

Signaling its intention to continue growing in Florida, Stearns Bank in St. Cloud, Minn., has named veteran banker Tramm Hudson as president of its Florida operation.

Due to a noncompete agreement, John Kanas must remain hands-off for a while after BankUnited buys Herald National in New York. When that noncompete expires, watch out.

BankAtlantic, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., subsidiary of BankAtlantic Bancorp, plans to release a mobile banking application for smartphones that run Google's Android software.

Shares of Herald National Bank rose more than 25% Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that BankUnited in Miami Lakes, Fla., was in talks to acquire the small, New York-based commercial bank.

Less than two years after it acquired Federal Trust Bank in Sanford, Fla., so it could qualify for a federal bailout, insurance giant Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is selling the thrift to another Florida banking company.

Atlantic Coast Capital Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla., said Wednesday that G. Thomas Frankland is now officially its president and chief executive.

In the last year, Michael Brown Sr. raised nearly $330 million, bought a small Florida bank, converted it to a thrift, struck a deal for a weaker competitor, bought a branch from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — and turned 70 years old. The chairman and chief executive officer of HCBF Holding Co. in Palm City says he's just getting started.

Atlantic Coast Financial Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla. said Wednesday that G. Thomas Frankland is now officially its president and chief executive officer. Frankland had been the interim president and CEO since October.

Bond Street Holdings Inc., the most active acquirer of failed banks in Florida, is looking to raise more money to buy even more banks.

Buoyed by a large private-equity investment and the acquisition of another Northeast Florida bank, Jacksonville Bancorp Inc. swung to a $439,000 profit in the first quarter from a $988,000 loss in the same period last year.

Premier American Bank has become the most aggressive failed-bank buyer in Florida, distinguishing itself from the state's other private investor-backed groups by sticking to deals close to home.

WASHINGTON — Premier American Bank in Miami picked up another failed institution Friday, assuming the operations of Coastal Bank in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced written agreements with three companies.

A week after revealing that a $23 million loss in the first quarter had dropped its equity below zero, BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said late Monday that it is pursuing a stock offering in hopes of raising $30 million in fresh capital.