MIDWEST

Bank of East Asia, the largest independent bank in Hong Kong, is beefing up its U.S. operations with a deal to buy the $87 million-asset National American Bank in San Francisco.

At first glance 2005 appears to have been another banner year for mutual holding company conversions.

On Dec. 9, American Banker published an opinion article defending Sovereign Bancorp Inc.'s effort to sell an equity stake and use the proceeds to buy a banking company. The article, "Attacks on Sovereign Unfair, Short-Sighted," was written by Ben A. Plotkin, chairman of investment bank Ryan Beck & Co., which is owned by BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc.

SNB Bancshares Inc. of Sugarland, Tex., said it would sell $205 million of low-yield securities, use the proceeds to pay down borrowings, and take a fourth-quarter charge of $5.3 million after taxes.

RCB Holding Co. of Claremore, Okla., near Tulsa, has a deal that would bring it into other Oklahoma markets.

University Bancorp of Ann Arbor, Mich., announced Friday that it had it has created a unit that will focus on providing banking services to Muslims.

After failing to win Federal Reserve Board approval of its application to open a bank in New London, Conn., Southern Connecticut Bancorp Inc. has withdrawn the bid and decided to open a branch there instead.

Two California rivals, UCBH Holdings Inc. and Cathay General Bancorp, have both gained regulatory approval to buy Great Eastern Bank of New York - but the betting is on Cathay.

A small Utah start-up seems to be establishing a new business model for the industrial loan company charter.

The District Court of Kansas has dismissed Gold Bank's lawsuit against the Farm Service Agency and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Gold's parent company said Thursday.

East West Bancorp, which became the nation's largest Chinese-American-owned banking company in September when it bought a smaller rival, would pull further ahead with a deal announced Wednesday.

Cascade Bancorp's deal for F&M Holding Co. gave Patricia L. Moss something she has been after for a long time: an entry point into one of the West's fastest-growing metropolitan markets.

MIDWEST

Cardinal Financial Corp. in Tysons Corner, Va., ended a self-imposed 18-month exile from investor conferences last month, when its chairman and chief executive made a presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Super Community Bank Conference in Philadelphia.

A major shareholder in Placer Sierra Bancshares, which has built itself up over the past few years by buying and consolidating a number of banks, is further reducing its stake in the Sacramento company.

Under a supervisory agreement, the $803 million-asset Baltimore County Savings Bank must review and revise if necessary its policies on compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the Flood Disaster Protection Act and on underwriting indirect automobile loans.