CHICAGO — Investor conferences are generally upbeat affairs, but the mood at the Midwest Super Community Bank Conference here last week could be best described as subdued.

Buckhead Community Bancorp Inc. of Atlanta announced plans Friday to acquire the $190 million-asset Allied Bancshares Inc. in Cumming Ga., for $53.5 million in cash and stock.

Coast Financial Holdings Inc. in Bradenton, Fla., reported a $17.3 million loss for last year after adding $21 million to its loan-loss provision.

Nearly nine in 10 community bank chief executives say that developing new sources of revenue is crucial to their banks' success, but less than one-fourth are confident in their ability to do so, a survey found.

Superior Bancorp of Birmingham, Ala., takes aim at a newcomer to Alabama, RBC Centura Banks Inc. of Raleigh, in a series of billboard ads being unveiled today in Huntsville.

FNB Bancorp in South San Francisco said Friday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell but that its 2006 income rose.

Competition for loans and deposits in the Chicago area continues to drag down margins at Bank of Montreal's U.S. retail and commercial banking operations, the Toronto company said Thursday.

Credit problems are leading some multibank holding companies to rein in executives at subsidiary banks.

CapitalSouth Bancorp of Birmingham, Ala., announced Thursday that it has agreed to buy the $228 million-asset Monticello Bancshares Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., for about $34 million in cash and stock.

MIDWEST

Independence Federal Savings Bank in Washington announced Tuesday that E. Leroy Morris, its interim president and chief executive, has submitted his resignation and will step down March 23.

Two North Carolina community banks are teaming up to create a $2 billion-asset company that their top executives hope will be a more formidable competitor against the large ones that dominate the state.

Nara Bancorp in Los Angeles can now pay dividends and issue trust-preferred securities without prior regulatory approval, it said, but still must abide by other restrictions of a 2005 regulatory order.

With its victory in the bidding war for Fina Bancorp Inc. in Valparaiso, Ind., 1st Source Corp. would vault to the top deposit-share position in one of its markets and the No. 2 position in another.

The breakup of the corrugated paper manufacturer Temple-Inland Inc. could create a significant acquisition opportunity for a large bank looking to bulk up in Texas and California.

SouthCrest Financial Group Inc. in Fayetteville, Ga., announced plans Monday to acquire the $68 million-asset Bank of Chickamauga for $18 million.

The Greenlining Institute, a Berkeley, Calif., advocacy group, plans to protest the Dutch farm lender Rabobank Group's acquisition of Mid-State Bank of Arroyo Grande, Calif., today.

1st Pacific Bancorp in San Diego has made a deal — its first — to buy the $125 million-asset Landmark National Bank in Solana Beach, Calif., for about $24.6 million in cash and stock.

In what would be the first whole-bank acquisition in its 86-year history, Ridgewood Savings Bank in New York said it is buying City and Suburban Financial Corp. of Yonkers, N.Y., for $119 million in cash.

First Bank and Trust in Brookings, S.D., has developed a prepaid debit card product that could open a door for community banks to gain new customers and boost fee income.