Washington

Puget Sound Bank in Bellevue, Wash., is preparing to form a holding company.

The $815 million-asset company said in a press release Friday that it will close locations in Ilwaco and Ferndale in western Washington.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has hired a former FBI deputy director to lead a new consulting group to address financial crime issues.

Anchor Bancorp in Lacey, Wash., could eventually sell itself after reaching a truce with an activist investor.

Washington Federal in Seattle reported higher profit in its fiscal fourth quarter, citing a record level of commercial loan originations.

Foundation Bancorp in Bellevue, Wash., is searching for a new chief executive. The company said in a press release Tuesday that Diane Dewbrey resigned a day earlier "to pursue other interests."

The $1.5 billion-asset bank issued $25 million of subordinated notes due 2025 in a private placement. WashingtonFirst used the proceeds to redeem $8.9 million in SBLF preferred shares, which it issued to the Treasury Department in 2011.

A pair of community banks have lined up funding through separate subordinated-debt agreements with a firm in the Cayman Islands.

SEATTLE — Tiny Northwest Baptist Federal Credit Union on Friday merged into $633 million Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union. The combined credit union will hold $635 million in assets and serve 45,000 members with a total of 7 branches throughout the Greater Seattle area.

A bank failure in Georgia and then another in Washington state late Friday were estimated to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. nearly $25 million.