Americas

The parent company of United Legacy Bank in Winter Park, Fla., is buying a large stake in a rival bank in what appears to be the first step toward building a multi-bank holding company.

Britton & Koontz Bank in Natchez, Miss., has been ordered by its regulator to immediately take steps to reduce the level of risk in its loan portfolio.

The growth-hungry Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., is making good on its plans to grow organically alongside acquisitions.

Sterling Financial Corp. of Spokane, Wash., has laid off 6% of its full-time employees as it works to reach an ambitious efficiency ratio goal by 2013.

First Place Financial Corp. in Warren, Ohio said it was not able to file its results for the quarter ending Dec. 31, marking its sixth consecutive quarter in the dark, as its massive multi-year restatement drags on.

Provident New York Bancorp in Montebello said in a shelf registration that it may raise up to $75 million through the sale of various securities.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. expects to close 35 branches after it completes its acquisition of HSBC Holdings Plc's branches in mid-May.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. in Huntington, W.Va., is planning to consolidate three of its four subsidiary banks as part of its ongoing effort to build scale, lower its compliance costs and improve its overall efficiency.

CapStar Bank has agreed to buy certain assets and liabilities from another Tennessee bank, making CapStar’s second acquisition in the past week.

Town and Country Financial Corp. in Springfield. Ill., is combining its two bank subsidiaries that it has operated as separate entities for nearly three decades.