Retail & Commercial

First Guaranty Bancshares in Hammond, La., has decided to again test the market for an IPO. The $1.4 billion-asset company in December postponed a stock offering that would have raised around $65 million, as concerns mounted about the impact the slide in oil prices would have on the bank.

CEOS of midsize banks traveled to Washington recently to seek relief from some of the more onerous regulations that they say are making it harder for them to compete with both big banks and largely unregulated marketplace lenders that are aggressively going after their customers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's implementation of the statute banning "abusive" conduct through enforcement action instead of rulemaking is not sustainable.

Evans Bancorp in Hamburg, N.Y., said that its chief financial officer has left to pursue other interests.

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Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $81.6 million to settle a federal investigation into its alleged failure to properly notify homeowners of increases in their mortgage payments.

Puget Sound Bank in Bellevue, Wash., is preparing to form a holding company.

Incommons Bank in Mexia, Texas, has agreed to buy two branches from Allegiance Bancshares in Houston.

PRA Group reported third-quarter revenue of $229.4 million, a 4% drop that fell far short of 9% growth expectations. The debt-buying giant’s net income dropped by nearly two-thirds from year-ago levels.

Borrowing by U.S. small businesses increased overall growth in September, according to the Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index.