John Linfante is stepping down as the chairman of Atlantic Coast Financial (ACFC), the latest leader to leave the Florida bank since investors rejected its sale to Bond Street Holdings.

Sellers will say rising rates makes them more valuable. Buyers will say the same trend makes sellers less valuable. Add this impasse to the list of complications for bank M&A.

Banking has lost its recruiting luster at a critical time. To attract the best, the industry must regain people’s trust.

The $7.2 billion-asset company auctioned $34.6 million in senior notes, it announced Monday. The notes carry an interest rate of 6%.

The chief executive of First Community Bancshares (FCBC) in Bluefield, Va., plans to step down.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has closed an investigation of Suffolk Bancorp (SUBK) in Riverhead, N.Y.

The brouhaha over a court ruling that debit card fee caps be lowered overshadowed another problem for banks: the decision could also enable merchants to play card networks against one another on signature debit transactions.

The $345 million-asset Broadway lost $228,000 in the second quarter, it announced Monday. It earned $1.7 million in the second quarter of 2012, when it recorded a $2.5 million profit from the sale of its former headquarters.

The chief financial officer of Intrust Bank in Wichita, Kan., is stepping down.

Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin (ACBW) in Madison has filed for bankruptcy in a bid to restructure its debt and recapitalize its struggling bank.

Congressional Bancshares of Bethesda, Md., has promoted to chief executive the former president of its Congressional Bank subsidiary.

Matt Hildreth has been named Dallas chairman and chief executive for the $13 billion-asset Amegy Bank in Houston, Amegy said Monday.

The Spokane, Wash., bank could not rename its two retail operations in California "Sterling" because of legal matters, so executives turned to their French-English dictionary for a unique substitute: "Argent."

Determined to stay independent, Allegiance Bancshares is looking for more deals like its recent one with Independence Bank so it can get big enough to go public. Other Texas banks could be attracted by the chance to join a soon-to-be public company.

Demand for mortgage loans is on the rise as delinquencies and foreclosures continue to decline, according to two recent surveys from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Cascade Bancorp (CACB) in Bend, Ore., reported a surge in quarterly earnings because of a large tax-related gain.

Community banks keep getting more comfortable with commercial real estate loans, including relatively riskier types, despite memories of bad CRE loans from the economic crisis.

Many community bankers are looking to expand into new types of activity to bolster their results in a time of sluggish loan demand. However, venturing into everything from wealth management to credit cards to cybersecurity poses formidable risks as well as rewards. American Banker staffers discuss the trend.

John Koelmel will receive a severance package from First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG) that is 38% smaller than previous reports had indicated.