Columbia Banking System has agreed to buy West Coast Bancorp. The acquisition, valued at about $506 million, will create a community bank in the Pacific Northwest with more than $7 billion in assets.

Metro Bank in Harrisburg, Pa., will pay $1.5 million to settle claims that it violated the Bank Secrecy Act.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., has adopted a so-called "tax preservation plan," which is designed to protect a company's deferred tax assets during a lengthy period of operating losses.

The Norfolk, Va., company announced on Monday that Charles M. Johnston, a former chief financial officer at Eastern Bank in Boston, had joined its board.

The SEC has charged three former executives of TierOne, a failed bank in Nebraska, with misleading investors about the extent of the bank's losses during the financial crisis.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced a new system Tuesday for classifying violations of consumer-protection rules that the agency spots during exams.

The Federal Reserve Board has lifted a written agreement with Ames Community Bank in Iowa that required the company to improve its credit administration.

The National Credit Union Administration filed a lawsuit against Barclays, alleging the bank's sale of faulty mortgage-backed securities to two corporate credit unions — U.S. Central and WesCorp — contributed to their 2009 collapse.

At least a dozen community banks have planned new headquarters in the past year, either by building offices or leasing new digs. Some of the banks outgrew older offices, while others took advantage of low interest rates and great pricing to make the move.

Dwight Utz wanted to accelerate his North Carolina company's growth by bringing in private equity. Less than year after ECB's plans fell through, the company agreed to sell to Crescent Financial, which has plenty of backing from private equity firms.

Regulators are barring a Minnesota bank holding company from paying shareholders and some creditors until it takes steps to boost its capital.

Urban Trust, a Florida bank, had been under fire from consumer groups for allowing a payday lender to load loans onto its prepaid debit cards.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez pressured the city of Saint Paul to withdraw a Supreme Court case that was supported by banks and threatened to undercut a key way the government targets lenders over fair lending laws. Republicans are crying foul.

Landmark Credit Union joins a growing list of tax-exempt institutions finalizing deals to buy banks or thrifts.

First Capital (FCAP) in Corydon, Ind., will record a pretax charge of $650,000 for the third quarter tied to a voluntary early retirement program.

Private equity may have played a role in the deal. Crescent, led by Scott Custer, has PE backing, while an infusion set for ECB fell through earlier this year.

In former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair's insider account of the financial crisis and its aftermath, Bair provides a detailed look at regulatory battles and delivers a scathing portrayal of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. She also offers key recommendations for reform, including abolishing the OCC.

United Community Financial (UCFC) in Youngstown, Ohio, has reduced its classified assets nearly in half through a bulk sale.

IMGCAP(1)]