Florida

In what it is calling a first step toward replenishing its capital, Mercantile Bancorp Inc. in Quincy, Ill., said it intends to merge its flailing Florida bank with a stronger unit.

A small Florida bank raised $70 million through an initial public offering Wednesday, in what is believed to be the first such deal in the banking sector in two years.

Jay Kislak, chairman of the real estate investment company J.I. Kislak Inc., has applied to receive a shelf charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Regulators closed two community banks in Florida, and one in Oregon, Friday evening to bring the year's failure total to 72.

Regulators closed institutions in five states late Friday, bringing the year's toll to 69 and leaving the FDIC with almost $1 billion more in losses.