Americas

Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. has combined its four banks in New England, California and the Pacific Northwest under a single charter.

First Financial Holdings Inc. is selling its insurance agency subsidiary and its chief executive said that the Charleston, S.C., company intends to use the proceeds to shore up its capital base and invest in its core businesses of banking and wealth management.

Less than six months after closing its first-ever bank acquisition, First General Bank in Rowland Heights, Calif., has struck a deal to buy another small bank.

First BanCorp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday said it struck an agreement under which the private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP may buy $180 million of its common stock as part of a capital improvement plan.

Webster Financial Corp. in Waterbury, Conn., has tapped a former top executive at NewAlliance Bancshares to fill its position of chief financial officer.

The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions closed First Heritage Bank on Friday, and for a second straight week Columbia Banking System submitted a winning bid.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. assessed a fine on the chairman of the Georgia House of Representatives' banking committee in connection with his relationship with a bank in the state.

Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union in New York has hired Oskar Mielczarek, an experienced banker, as its president and chief executive.

Hancock Holding Co. in Gulfport, Miss., and PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles are scheduled to exchange Standard & Poor's indexes.

Community West Bancshares in Goleta, Calif., said Friday that it may revise its first-quarter results to reflect an expected $670,000 increase in its allowance for loan losses.