Astoria Financial (AF) in Lake Success, N.Y., plans to raise up to $150 million through an offering of depositary shares.

Staffing, policies and vendor relationships will draw scrutiny as community banks look for new ways to make money.

Ocwen Financial has added Wilbur Ross Jr. to its board.

The upswing in acquisition announcements lately has been unaccompanied by the spiral of rising deal and trading multiples that attended waves of mergers in the past.

Richard Moore became First Bancorp's CEO two years after losing a bid to become the state's governor. Investors are hoping his loss is the company's gain.

The $2.9 billion-asset parent of BofI Federal Bank said Monday it seeks as much as $50 million for general corporate purposes through the sale of common stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Institutions with at least $10 billion in assets approved 15.9% of loans between $25,000 and $3 million in February, up from 15.3% in January and from 11.7% a year earlier, according to Biz2Credit.

As banks struggle to find new sources of profitable business, are some making risky loans, delving into areas where they have little experience or are otherwise stretching in ways that they will eventually regret.

A rise in shareholder lawsuits following deal announcements has prompted insurers to vet clients' M&A plans and raise the deductibles banks must pay to settle claims.

Using data commonly available on most core systems, a relatively simple, inexpensive concentration stress testing model can bring value.

Heritage has agreed to pay $44.2 million for Valley Community Bancshares in Puyallup, Wash., the holding company for the $242 million-asset Valley Bank, the companies announced Tuesday.

Sunrise Community Banks in St. Paul, Minn., plans to combine three bank charters.

First BanCorp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said that one of its directors resigned over a personal issue with another member of the board.

Gulfstream Bancshares, a closely held Florida business lender with four branches and equity of about $66 million, has put itself up for sale, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide.

FirstMerit (FMER) has hired a veteran banker to lead its operations in Wisconsin.

The $143.8 million-asset company said Monday it had named Jeffry Wagner to the post. Wagner, who had been CFO at Florida Business Bank in Melbourne, succeeded Richard Browdy, who resigned in February to pursue other career opportunities.

United Community Financial (UCFC) in Youngstown, Ohio, is looking to raise $5 million through a rights offering.

Michael Carrazza, a private equity investor who bailed out Patriot National Bancorp, is eager to make loans while searching for the optimal exit strategy.

Florida bank-buyer Bond Street Holdings bulked up on failure deals, took a 19-month break and has returned to M&A with the aim of $5 billion in assets by yearend.