Niche banks face a challenge when they consider acquisitions: they want to grow without undermining their specialized business models. First Business in Madison, Wis., worked around the problem by searching far and wide till it found a very similar bank in Kansas that wanted to sell.

Community banks that are looking to complete acquisitions are deciding to go public so they have a stronger currency to offer potential sellers. However, recent IPOs have not performed as well as earlier ones.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling is challenging the idea that regulators should restrict banks' activities based on a judgment about the potential harm to their reputations.

FNB Bancorp (FNBG) in South San Francisco is expanding into the East Bay with a deal to acquire Valley Community Bank in Pleasanton.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

First Business Financial Services (FBIZ) of Madison, Wis., said Friday that it is acquiring the parent company of Alterra Bank in Leawood, Kan., for roughly $30.1 million in cash and stock.

A proposed U.S. Senate bill that would send unpaid Internal Revenue Service taxes to private collection agencies would be a money-loser for the tax agency, argues the IRS Oversight Board, a watchdog panel.

Credit Suisse Group AG said it remains committed to commodities and sees "strategic opportunities" as banks including Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank AG retreat from the field.

The U.S. Department of Education named ConServe, formally known as Continental Service Group Inc., as the top performing private collection agency on the department's contract for the first quarter ending March 31.

Harvard Illinois Bancorp (HARI) has extended its string of victories against activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

Regions Bank misled a Mobile, Ala., sewer company about the riskiness of several swaps transactions and must pay $7.4 million in compensation, an arbitration panel has found.

DUMFRIES, Va. — A credit union to serve professional and amateur athletes, and their families, has received preliminary charter approval from NCUA, according to the CU's organizer.

Avalara Inc. has launched a Bitcoin module for its AvaTax compliance engine to help merchants who accept Bitcoin manage their taxes.

Bankruptcy filings helped delinquent homeowners reduce the likelihood of a foreclosure auction by 70%, researchers have found.

The controversial Benham brothers blasted SunTrust for canning them as foreclosed-property vendors because they made anti-gay comments, but then the Atlanta bank said it was a misunderstanding and reinstated them. Now, they are trying to turn their 15 minutes of fame into a new business enterprise.

More community banks have begun offering SBA loans nationwide, a smart strategy given improving demand and double-digit premiums in the secondary loan market. Banks moving into far-flung territories have determined that they need highly targeted strategies to be successful — as well as methods for minimizing risk.

Eastern Virginia Bankshares (EVBS) of Tappahannock, Va., said Thursday that it intends to repay $15 million of its Troubled Asset Relief Program aid by late in the second quarter.

David Malone, former CEO of Community Bank in Pasadena, Calif., was appointed to BBCN's board, which expanded to 11 members.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are retaining more high-quality, conforming mortgages that they would normally sell to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, raising concerns that the banks are adversely selecting the weakest loans for the government-sponsored enterprises.

A report released Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights illegal actions the agency has uncovered from overseeing the collections, consumer reporting and payday lending markets.