Americas

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston said it will start listing its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

Southwest Bancorp Inc. in Stillwater, Okla., has sold off roughly $300 million of problem loans in a move its chief executive said is a major step toward achieving its goal of sustained profitability.

First Farmers Financial Corp. agreed late Wednesday to acquire First Citizens of Paris Inc.

United Community Financial Corp. in Youngstown, Ohio, said Wednesday that it raised about $2 million from selling 1.6 million shares of common stock to an unnamed investor.

State Bancorp Inc. in Jericho, N.Y., said Wednesday that it redeemed $36.8 million of preferred stock issued to the Treasury Department as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

WASHINGTON – The FDIC said today it approved the acquisition of Griffith (Indiana) Savings Bank by United FCU of St. Joseph, Mich., the first bank to be acquired by a credit union.

Shareholders for Herald National Bank of New York have until Dec. 21 to decide how they want to get paid in the proposed merger with BankUnited Inc. of Miami Lakes, Fla.

Bucking an industry trend, Umpqua Holdings Corp. in Portland, Ore., is ramping up its commercial real estate lending to fill what it sees as a void in its markets.

FNB United Corp. in Asheboro, N.C., has met the requirements for continued listing on the Nasdaq after completing a one-for-100 reverse common stock split.

Hometown Bancorp in Kent, Ohio, has changed the name of its banking unit to Hometown Bank from Home Savings Bank.