Americas

Republic Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., plans to enter warehouse lending by the second quarter after hiring a top executive from National City Corp.

Vibra Bank in Chula Vista, Calif., on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $51,000 as it reached its second year in business.

Sterling Bancshares Inc. in Houston is said to be shopping itself as it prepares for a hostile board takeover proposed by Don Adam, its biggest shareholder.

Midwest banks have long been enamored with growth in sunny locations, but Enterprise Financial Services Corp. is using government-backed deals with loss-sharing agreements as protection.

National Penn Bancshares Inc. in Boyertown, Pa., has announced the completion of a $150 million recapitalization with the private-equity firm Warburg Pincus.

A pair of banking companies have extended their deadlines for rights offerings due to technical difficulties.

As the epicenter of bank failures in 2010, Florida gave 2011 its first casualty. Florida was home to 18% of the 157 failures last year, with 29. Following a two-week hiatus, two banks failed on the first Friday of the new year.

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., has finally combined its two main subsidiaries. The $21 billion-asset company said IronStone Bank, its thrift, merged into First Citizens Bank, a state-chartered bank, on Friday.

Frequent bank investor Thomas Brown has taken a stake in Mercantile Bank Corp. of Grand Rapids, Mich.

In the midst of the largest Korean-American bank merger, Center Financial Corp. has "terminated" its chief executive.