Magnolia Banking Corp. in Arkansas has agreed to buy Southern State Bancshares Inc. in Malvern for $13 million.

To the Editor:

Now that it has moved its headquarters to Texas, Comerica Inc. might start buying banks there soon.

The Black Hills and Badlands region of South Dakota has emerged as a major tourist destination, and First Interstate BancSystem Inc. in Billings, Mont., wants in on the action.

Fierce competition in Los Angeles has prompted another Korean-American banking company there to search well outside its market for growth.

American National Bank of Texas, a $1.5 billion-asset Terrell subsidiary of A.N.B. Holding Co. Ltd., has a deal to acquire DNB Bancshares Inc. in Dallas.

When Home Bancshares Inc. of Conway, Ark., was in talks to buy Centennial Bancshares in Little Rock this year, negotiations hit a snag because Centennial's managers thought it was worth more than the buyer was willing to pay.

ShoreBank in Chicago has joined the list of banks offering a high-yield online-only savings account.

First Interstate BancSystem Inc. in Billings, Mont., has made a deal to buy First Western Bancorp Inc. in Huron, S.D., for $251 million in cash and stock.

MIDWEST

Frank D'Alessandro, the southwest Florida developer who was a partner with three now-failed credit unions in a multibillion-dollar land speculation, was found floating in the ocean Monday, the victim of an apparent accidental drowning.

The District of Columbia council passed the Payday Loan Consumer Protection Act of 2007 Tuesday in a vote of 12 to 1.

FNB United Corp. in Asheboro, N.C., said Tuesday that it had sold its $4 million credit card portfolio to Elan Financial Services, a division of U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis.

Banks that target minority groups, particularly Hispanics and Asian-Americans, are reporting asset growth well above the industry average, largely because of an influx of immigrants.

The American Bankers Association has formed a task force to address what it says are mounting challenges to the banking industry's role in the payments system.

The Credit Union Journal

Three days after announcing that it lost $31.9 million last quarter, Integrity Bancshares of Alpharetta, Ga., said Monday that it has hired former banking regulator Patrick M. Frawley as its president and chief executive officer.

A group of shareholders and directors at FNB Corp. in Christiansburg, Va., are urging fellow shareholders to reject its proposed merger with Virginia Financial Group Inc. in Culpepper.

OmniAmerican Bank of Fort Worth said it will trim overhead by laying off 35 employees, or about 8% of its work force.

America's Community Bankers' board of directors voted unanimously Friday to merge with the American Bankers Association.