Americas

Many have argued that competitive pressures and increased regulatory costs will force a wave of consolidation in the banking industry. On Thursday, a prominent banker made a stark prediction about how many institutions will survive the next decade.

A federal judge has ordered the repatriation of $2.3 million traced to last year's collapse of St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union from a Macedonian bank as authorities try to determine if the funds were among those siphoned from the onetime $240 million-asset credit union.

Community Shores Bank Corp. in Muskegon, Mich., said Wednesday that its first-quarter loss widened to $734,000, from $440,000 a year earlier.

Tri-Valley Bank in San Ramon, Calif., said late Tuesday that it added three directors and elected a former Wells Fargo & Co. executive to chair its board.

A failed-bank acquisition lifted the first-quarter earnings of First Bancorp in Troy, N.C. The $3.4 billion-asset company's earnings rose 56% from a year earlier, to $5.3 million, according to a late Tuesday press release.

Brand Group Holdings Inc. in Lawrenceville, Ga., said Wednesday that it had raised $200 million in capital through a number of well-known private-equity groups.

North American Financial Holdings Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., last week merged TIB Bank into its flagship NAFH National Bank.

Entrust Inc. has begun offering a mobile software development kit for users of its IdentityGuard authentication system.

National Bank of Oak Harbor and Commodore Perry Federal Credit Union in Oak Harbor are providing low-interest loans to help spruce up downtown.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced written agreements with three companies.