Five years after embarking on a path to become a bank holding company, specialty lender CapitalSource is almost there. Tad Lowrey, the CEO of CapitalSource Bank, thinks the Fed will approve an application next year, now that company is "smaller, simpler and cleaner."

First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) in Itasca, Ill., has named Thomas M. Prame its director of retail banking, a newly created position in which he will be responsible for the bank's 100-branch network and oversee the expansion and development of its retail products and services.

Bankers, regulators and consumer advocates debate the best ways to serve low-income and underbanked consumers.

Center Bancorp (CNBC) of Union, N.J., has taken another step in its plan to bulk up in northern New Jersey.

State regulators closed banks in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee on Friday, making June a busy month for failures.

A lawsuit has been filed against Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (PEBK) alleging that the Newton company failed to operate its overdraft program in line with its customer account agreement.

Deal for Piraeus' Marathon Banking unit in U.S. satisfies Investors' M&A ambitions in New York for now, CEO Kevin Cummings says.

Avidbank in Palo Alto, Calif., will open a loan production office in downtown San Jose next week.

With Congress nearing a vote on a new Farm Bill that will set agricultural policy for the next five years, the banking industry is urging lawmakers to resist efforts to weaken the federal crop insurance program.

Cardinal Bankshares in Floyd, Va., is developing a comprehensive plan just weeks after a proxy battle brought in three new directors and led to the ouster of its chief executive.

Maybe George Bailey should've jumped — and made his savings and loan a commercial bank. If he had, he'd have been much better prepared for the Fed's decision to raise certain capital requirements, a move some are calling the death knell for the classic thrift business model: lend to home buyers like crazy.

As with housing, different bank markets across the country have crashed and recovered at different speeds. Measured by institutions with high Texas ratios, stress has tapered quickly in states like Washington and California, but remains elevated in Georgia, Illinois and Florida.

Private Bank of Buckhead in Atlanta has been given the green light to open its second branch.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. As excerpted from the Comments sections of AmericanBanker.com articles.

A Dallas-area investment group has applied to become a bank holding company so it could acquire a small bank outside of Austin.

Community bank Investors Bancorp Inc. agreed to acquire Piraeus Bank S.A.'s Marathon Banking Corp. unit for $135 million in cash, a move that doubles its presence in New York.

More than a year following its chief executive's departure, Pacific Commerce Bank in Los Angeles has found someone to take the helm.

HomeStreet (HMST) of Seattle has extended a housing assistance program to the Spokane, Wash., area.

More banks may decide to sell if they conclude Congress will not renew the capital gains tax cut, Deloitte's Sharon Weinstein says.

A planned merger between two southern California banks has yet to close a year after the deal was announced because regulators have yet to approve it.