Simmons First National (SFNC) in Pine Bluff, Ark., has agreed to buy Community First Bancshares in Union City, Tenn.

Kinderhook Bank in New York has raised $7.4 million after selling preferred stock.

A Michigan state court judge has reportedly postponed a trial in which former customers of Lotus Bancorp in Novi, Mich., had filed a lawsuit against the bank's executives for sending racist emails.

CertusBank in Greenville, S.C., has hired a new internal auditor and promoted eight other executives as it reorganizes management weeks after the ouster of its top executives.

Big banks are reporting an increased appetite for lending to small businesses and, in doing so, they are slowly stealing market share from smaller lenders, according to Biz2Credit's monthly index of business lending trends.

Four bank holding companies have been freed from regulatory enforcement actions, the Federal Reserve Board announced Tuesday.

Midstate Bancorp in Baltimore has filed paperwork to sell up to $34.4 million in stock as part of a planned conversion to a stock company. Sandler O'Neill is assisting with the offering.

Wayne Griest, Continental's chief executive, once worked with Bryn Mawr's CEO at another institution. That familiarity came in handy as the two banks began discussing the potential of a merger.

The New York company has emerged from a regulatory order with a stated goal of branching out from a longtime focus on commercial real estate by adding specialty-lending lines. Now management is looking to leverage a huge cash buffer and strong deposit base.

Thanks to redevelopment efforts in the once-neglected downtown areas of Buffalo, Detroit and other cities, banks are seeing improvements to their bottom lines. Banks and developers credit a federal historic tax credit program for the results.

Organic loan growth propelled the Internet banking company BofI Holding (BOFI) to record profits in the quarter that ended March 31.

UMB Financial (UMBF) in Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to buy the corporate trust business of RCB Bank in Claremore, Okla.

First Mid-Illinois Bancshares (FMBH) in Mattoon, Ill., has received approval from the Nasdaq Stock Market to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market.

Green Bancorp in Houston has agreed to buy SP Bancorp (SPBC) in Plano, Texas.

First American Bank in Elk Grove Village, Ill., has agreed to buy Bank of Coral Gables in Florida.

Union Bank has entered into a strategic alliance with Lending Club, a peer-to peer lending marketplace provider that connects creditworthy borrowers with investors.

Regulators are seeking to limit risky behavior. Shareholders are intent on paying for performance. The result in 2013 was modest gains for bank CEOs and a shift to long-term payouts.

First National Bank of Southern California announced Monday that it is acquiring First Mountain Bank in Big Bear Lake, Calif., in a deal that would roughly double its size.

Employee turnover remains high in the banking industry. Financial institutions are trying several different tactics to keep intellectual property from leaving when an employee jumps ship.