Americas

Shareholders frown on United Financial's all-stock deal for healthy bank in good market.

Preferred Bank (PFBC) of Los Angeles has signed a memorandum of understanding with regulators after a more formal consent order was lifted.

After operating exclusively in Massachusetts for more than a century, United Financial Bancorp (UBNK) in West Springfield is making the leap across the state line.

The three states that have led the nation in bank failures over the last four years — Georgia, Florida and Illinois — remain home to the banks that are most in danger of failing down the road, according to new data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Wilshire State Bank in Los Angeles has been released from an enforcement order that required it to boost its capital ratios and reduce its level of problem loans.

State Bank & Trust in Fargo, N.D., is changing its name to avoid confusion with the dozens of banks in its markets that have similar names.

Gerald Host, Trustmark's CEO, expressed confidence in his company's purchase of BancTrust despite some analysts' concerns about the seller's weak deposit positions in key Alabama markets.

First Financial Northwest in Renton, Wash., and Stilwell Partners are both claiming victory following last week's annual meeting. A representative for the activist shareholder has threatened a legal challenge if its nominee isn't added to the board.

Wells Fargo (WFC) is planning to add up to 200 jobs at its call center in Salem, Ore., and M&T Bank (MTB) of Buffalo, N.Y., intends to hire as many as 30 new employees in the Albany, N.Y., area, according to local news reports.

The Center for Plain Language, a watchdog group, says the bank's merchant card payment-processing agreement was the worst thing written by any company, charity or government agency in the past year.