Americas

Regulators on Wednesday cleared Motion Picture Federal Credit Union to merge into the $80 million-asset Musicians Interguild Credit Union in Hollywood, Calif.

The board of Independent Bank Corp. in Ionia, Mich. is already making plans in advance of its leader's retirement next year.

Blackhawk Bancorp Inc. of Beloit, Wis., reported a 52% increase in fourth-quarter earnings from a year earlier as an improved net interest margin offset higher credit costs.

Southern Community Financial Corp. of Winston-Salem, N.C., said Thursday that its bank has signed a consent order requiring it to reduce problem loans and maintain capital levels.

A Maryland credit union's new venture promises to make enemies out of allies and attract a strange bedfellow — banks.

Broadway Financial Corp. in Los Angeles announced Wednesday that the Treasury Department has agreed to take a 50% haircut on its holdings to help bolster the company's recapitalization efforts.

Yadkin Valley Financial Corp. of Elkin, N.C., said late Tuesday that it had named an insider to become its next president and chief executive.

Vista Bank Texas in Houston has agreed to buy Founders Bank of nearby Sugar Land. The $145.7 million-asset Founders will fold its single branch into the $455.6 million-asset Vista.

Har-Co Maryland Federal Credit Union in Bel Air has notified members and the National Credit Union Administration that it plans to convert to a mutual savings bank. It would become the first conversion in more than two years.

Republic Bancorp Inc. is fighting to keep a right that most other banks have surrendered. The Louisville, Ky., company is preparing to square off against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over refund-anticipation loans, a product that regulators have pressured several other lenders to stop making because it is viewed as predatory.