Washington

Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane, Wash., said that regulators have lifted a cease-and-desist order under which it was operating just one month after the company completed a recapitalization.

First Financial Northwest Inc. in Renton, Wash., said that its bank unit has entered into a formal agreement with its regulators.

Two failures on opposite coasts Friday evening brought the year's toll to 127. Florida regulators closed the $148 million-asset Haven Trust Bank in Ponte Vedra Beach. Later, the $289 million-asset North County Bank in Arlington, Wash., was shuttered.

Umpqua Bank said Wednesday that it is opening a commercial banking center in northern Nevada that will be led by a former US Bank commercial banking veteran in that market.

Cascade Financial Corp. in Everett, Wash., received a warning from the Nasdaq that it does not comply with the market's listing requirements.

Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane said Thursday it has completed a $730 million capital raise, including an expansion of its investments from two firms leading the recapitalization.

Sterling Financial Corp. of Spokane has found a way to raise $730 million in fresh capital, including an expansion of its investments from the private-equity firms Warburg Pincus LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP.

Columbia Banking System Inc. in Tacoma, Wash., has repaid the $76.9 million it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

When Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane, Wash., merged its two bank units last week, few may have noticed, but many community bankers could relate. Companies that cannot get their hands on fresh capital are scrambling for a Plan B these days.

Five bank closures in four states Friday cost the federal government an additional $334 million in losses.

Despite analysts' skepticism, it appears Banner Corp. of Walla Walla, Wash., is advancing in its attempts to raise capital. The $4.6 billion-asset company announced late last week that it would sell 75 million shares of common stock at $2 a share.

Federal regulators have ordered Cowlitz Bancorp of Longview, Wash., to raise capital or accept a sales offer by July 15, the company said Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fortune Bank in Seattle said Thursday that it plans to sell up to $460 million in stock through an initial public offering.

After flying under the radar for much of the recession, the Pacific Northwest has been hit with a string of failures — and more choppiness lies ahead.

Nevada saw its third failure of the year late Friday, with the collapse of $480 million-asset Nevada Security Bank in Reno.

The $4.3 billion-asset company is seeking twice as much money as it did in December, when it came to the market to raise $75 million but couldn't drum up enough interest to complete the offering.

WASHINGTON — While it has seemingly become routine for several banks to fail every week, only one institution was closed late Friday, $521 million-asset Washington First International Bank in Seattle.

Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane announced Wednesday that the Treasury Department has approved the two lead investors in its recapitalization effort.

Independence Federal Savings Bank in Washington has called off its acquisition of Colombo Bank in Rockville, Md., after an indication from regulators that the deal had been delayed indefinitely.

Less than a week after making a deal with a private-equity firm and the Treasury Department, Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane announced it is raising $555 million in capital through private placements with several investors.