Premier Commercial Bank in Greensboro, N.C., has held a beach-theme office party, brown-bag lunches on weighty matters like the cost of health insurance, and other special events to stand out in its market. It works.

Regional banks are expected to see a huge drop-off in mortgage originations over the second half of 2013 as interest rates continue to rise.

Dwight Utz, who is leaving VantageSouth in North Carolina five months after it bought his bank, says he is looking for CEO jobs Virginia, Maryland or Pennsylvania.

Bill Heffernan has done it all over four decades in Miami banking, and has even been a mayor of a small town. Now, as a new board member of Apollo Bank, he'll advise the community bank on growth strategies.

BankUnited (BKU) says a factoring firm overstated its relationship with the Miami Lakes, Fla., bank.

City Bank Texas's latest mobile update points to its greater goal of enticing customers to a lower cost channel while also solving customer pain points.

"Insane" is how one bank CEO characterized what he's seen recently in the competition among banks to win business by loosening loan terms. American Banker editors discuss the trend and the dangers it poses.

The Federal Reserve Board has given Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., approval to redeem $127.5 million of trust-preferred securities.

State Bank Financial Corp. in Atlanta has named a new credit guru.

Jim Simpson, CTO of City Bank Texas, explains how and why his community bank has been the first U.S. bank to go live with several new mobile banking tools.

Community Financial Shares (CFIS) in Glen Ellyn, Ill., plans to issue $2.8 million of common stock in a private placement.

The banking industry earned a record profit for the second straight quarter as growth in noninterest income continued to make up for a slow recovery in the lending sector, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Thursday.

Heartland Financial (HTLF) in Dubuque, Iowa, plans to raise up to $75 million.

Prosperity Bancshares in Houston has agreed to buy F&M Bancorp in Tulsa, Okla.

GNB Financial in Gratz, Pa., has agreed to buy Liberty Centre Bancorp in Pottsville, Pa.

VantageSouth Bancshares in Raleigh, N.C., announced that its president will resign.

Unity disclosed in a regulatory filing Wednesday that it paid the Treasury Department $2.7 million to repurchase a warrant to buy about 765,000 shares of common stock.

CresCom Bank in Myrtle Beach, S.C., has agreed to buy a branch from First Carolina Bancshares in Waterboro, S.C.

Traditional bank M&A in Georgia has been nearly dead in recent years, but Hamilton State Bancshares' deal this week to buy Cherokee Banking suggests that the Peach State may be primed for consolidation.

Independent Bank (IBCP) in Ionia, Mich., has raised $89 million as part of a plan to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.