Carolina Premier Bank hopes its blend of Southern charm and robust technology (robotic bankers, anyone?) will be a hit with residents in the nation's capital.

Southern Methodist University's banking school has given Scott Dueser, the head of First Financial Bankshares in Abilene, Texas, its distinguished alumnus award for embracing change in challenging times.

Independence Bancshares (IEBS) in Greenville, S.C., plans to raise $1.8 million in a follow-up offering to a private placement that closed last December.

Growth in business loans continued to outpace other categories in the second quarter but failed to rebound to the blistering rate that prevailed through most of 2011 and 2012, preliminary data shows.

Virginia Heritage Bank (VGBK) in Tysons Corner raised $22 million in its recent public offering.

The Treasury Department plans to sell its stake in eight more institutions as it seeks to continuing winding down the 5-year-old Troubled Asset Relief Program.

First Merchants (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., has reduced its ties to the Treasury Department's Small Business Lending Fund.

Serial acquirer Grandpoint Capital has agreed to buy Gilmore Bank. Both are in Los Angeles.

First ULB (FUBP) in Oakland, Calif., has agreed to buy Union Financial in Albuquerque, N.M.

Deposit-rich banks needing to make loans are suppressing rates on jumbo mortgages to compete for wealthier customers as home prices soar in expensive areas from Manhattan to San Francisco.

Prosperity Bancshares in Houston rarely participates in auctions, but CEO David Zalman was confident enough of his offer for FVNB to the bank solicit another bid. Zalman won, and Prosperity's investors embraced the result.

The $400 million-asset bank said Tuesday that it had acquired Luhn-McCain Insurance, also in San Antonio. The bank did not disclose the price.

Community bankers emerged victorious Tuesday after regulators made a number of key changes to a final package of Basel III capital rules in an effort to address smaller institutions' concerns. But the biggest banks, in contrast, fared far worse.

Home Savings Bank in Madison, Wis., is planning to convert from a mutual thrift to a stock-owned company.

First Virginia Community Bank in Fairfax has named a new chief operating officer and added a chief marketing officer position.

Consumers Bancorp (CBKM) in Minerva, Ohio, has completed a $9.7 million rights offering and will seek to raise an additional $300,000 through a public offering of common stock.

Wintrust Financial, a community bank holding company in Illinois, is piloting an app that lets customers pre-order cash at ATMs.

BankUnited (BKU) said Tuesday that it had signed a lease to add 20,000 square feet to its headquarters, which already occupies five buildings and 120,000 square feet in Miami Lakes, Fla.

Downward pressure on loan pricing is putting a slight damper on otherwise positive results in American Banker's latest Index of Banking Activity.

Peoples Bancorp in Marietta, Ohio, plans to enter the Cleveland market by acquiring Ohio Commerce Bank in Beachwood.