RICHLAND, Wash. – HAPO Community CU plans to build its first Oregon branch after receiving regulatory approval to serve residents of Oregon’s Umatilla County.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A state court ordered a halt yesterday to a controversial transaction that would allow the University of Iowa Community CU to buy 20 acres of land in nearby North Liberty for $1 to build a new headquarters as part of a planned 64-acre development.

Cascade Financial Corp., which received a government bailout, is among three small bank holding companies the Federal Reserve is scrutinizing.

Its $150 million investment in National Penn Bancshares Inc. seems counterintuitive given the Boyertown, Pa., company's strong commitment to commercial real estate lending as others put more emphasis on commercial and industrial loans.

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So the $3.8 billion-asset company has created a safeguard to protect $120 million of tax assets that could be used should the company return to profitability, which given its most recent quarterly numbers could be sooner rather than later.

The total number of consumer statute lawsuits filed in the Oct. 16-31 period reached 503, a slight increase from 497 in the first half of October and bringing the month's total to 1,000, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

Preferred Financial Solutions Inc., an Indianapolis-based debt settlement company, has paid $175,000 to West Virginia as part of a settlement with the state's attorney general involving its operations.

Northwest Bancshares Inc. of Warren, Pa., has called off its deal to buy NexTier Inc. of Butler, Pa., at the urging of regulators after Northwest's consumer-compliance program was called into question.

Nearly two years after the regulator let a film crew tag along as it seized the $232 million-asset company in a segment for the news program "60 Minutes," the FDIC is going after former officers and directors. In what is expected to be the first of many professional-liability lawsuits against individuals associated with failed banks, the FDIC wants to recoup some losses sustained by its Deposit Insurance Fund in the current economic cycle.

The FDIC is set to make a massive change to the way it calculates premiums, releasing a proposal Tuesday that would force banks to pay assessments based on total liabilities.

David Earls, a financial adviser at Workers' Credit Union, says a series of misconceptions by other advisers about blue-collar people has helped his business to thrive.

Minority banks have a central role to play in our nation's future economic growth, but first they must respond to two challenges — the unprecedented collapse in real estate values and the wave of consolidation sweeping through the banking system.

Circumstances beyond its control drove Sallie Mae into retail banking, but the venture, once a stopgap, is now the cornerstone of its survival strategy.

Though banks surveyed by the Federal Reserve have reported a gradual loosening of credit standards in recent quarters, it may be a while before lending standards return to normal.

RICHLAND, Wash. – HAPO Community CU has hired a local architectural firm to design a renovation and addition to its 47,000 square-foot offices.

Regulators failed four banks late Friday, pushing the total number of collapses this year to 143. Closures are now are at their highest point since the S&L crisis.

The Office of Thrift Supervision has given Superior Bancorp of Birmingham, Ala., until the end of March to strengthen capital ratios significantly.

The largest shareholder of Sterling Bancshares Inc. is preparing for a proxy contest to overhaul the Houston company's board.

The private-equity commitments that Central Pacific Financial Corp. of Honolulu touted in its Nov. 2 earnings release have been finalized.