Columbia Banking System Inc. in Tacoma is inching closer to its goal of becoming a regional banking company.

Washington Banking Co. in Oak Harbor, Wash., announced Thursday that it has promoted John L. Wagner to president and chief executive officer of its banking subsidiary, Whidbey Island Bank. Its previous president and CEO, Michael D. Cann, retains those titles with the $792 million-asset holding company, focusing on strategic initiatives.

AmericanWest Bancorp in Spokane has dismissed its chief financial officer and promoted its chief operating officer to the position.

MIDWEST

UCBH Holdings Inc., which caters to Chinese-Americans, is about to become the first U.S. banking company to own a bank outright in China.

Some small banks are entering or remaining in the business of asset management, even though many competitors have abandoned it or turned to third-party outsourcers.

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. in Little Rock has abandoned its bid to establish a branch in Jacksonville, Ark., ending a more than two-year standoff with a community bank there.

More than ever, mutual thrifts are being targeted by depositors who try to force their conversions to publicly traded companies, industry insiders said.

The Dutch giant Rabobank Group is under pressure from a California consumer group to devote more resources to small-scale farming in the state.

OceanFirst Financial Corp. restated its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings after boosting loan-loss reserves to cover subprime repurchases.

North Valley Bank in Zanesville, Ohio, entered a written agreement with state and federal regulators requiring it to strengthen oversight, improve underwriting, and upgrade customer due diligence.

Underperformers beware - an upstate New York investor looking to raise $20 million to buy stakes in community banks says he is targeting those "that either need to be sold or where management needs a good kick in the pants."

Four law firms initiated class actions alleging that Coast Financial Holdings Inc. of Bradenton, Fla., issued "materially misleading" statements about its loan portfolio that have caused its stock price to plunge more than 55% since mid-January.

As James J. Giancola, the president and chief executive of Midwest Banc Holdings, sees it, the Chicago area is overbanked and overbranched, and the only way for banks there to grow is through acquisitions.

After reviewing its strategic alternatives, Peoples BancTrust Co. Inc. in Selma, Ala., has decided to remain independent.

Shares of Cadence Financial Corp. fell 4.5% Thursday after the Starkville, Miss., company warned that first-quarter earnings would fall well short of its expectations.

Largely focused on organic growth for the past decade, Sandy Spring Bancorp in Olney, Md., has struck two deals in the last six months, and it is not stopping there.

A mutual savings bank in Elmwood Park, N.J., filed suit Thursday against Lawrence B. Seidman, alleging that he is orchestrating an illegal takeover attempt.