USAmeriBank of Largo, Fla., has purchased a building in Tampa, Fla., where it intends to open a new branch and staff it with 25 new hires.

SNL Financial's ranking of the 10 biggest bank and thrift deals since Jan. 1, 2010, reminds us that some acquisitions demand a lot of short-term pain — to get them approved, and to integrate them — for long-term gains.

Robert C. Grubic, the CEO of a civil engineering firm Herbert, Rowland and Grubic, has been named the chairman of Mid Penn Bancorp (MPB) of Millersburg, Pa.

A month after calling off a planned public offering, Customers Bancorp in Pennsylvania, led by former Sovereign CEO Jay Sidhu, will bring in $100 million in capital by acquiring Acacia Federal Savings.

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.

Bank of Georgetown in Washington, D.C., has elected former mayor Anthony Williams to its board of directors.

Ixonia Bancshares in Milwaukee has raised $21 million in fresh capital, including $16.5 million from a wealthy family that also owns a stake in the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club.

A federal appeals court has denied Republic Bancorp's bid to recover $14 million it lost on securities investments because it believes the Louisville, Ky., company should have been aware of the risks it was taking.

When HSBC sold its branches in upstate New York, it created a big change with dozens of branches changing hands. Once the signs are changed, a number of community banks and regionals will have to work hard to keep business in those branches.

Fees paid to outside auditors appear to have been relatively stable in recent years. So have legal expenses for smaller institutions since mid-2010, when the 2,000-odd pages of the Dodd-Frank Act became law.

A Chinese businessman who founded a rice-trading company made up a story about his $60 million acquisition of a Delaware bank. He has since been arrested.

The Federal Reserve Board has entered into written agreements with two companies requiring them to serve as sources of strength for their banks.

North Carolina's Our State magazine is launching its own credit card with Greensboro-based NewBridge Bank.

What the investor fights at ECB and First California say about how hard it will be for struggling banks in prized markets to stay independent, and who is vulnerable.

We at the FDIC continue to believe the small-dollar loan model is replicable and that these loans can be cost-effective and responsive to the needs of both consumers and bankers.

Customers Bancorp, the Wyomissing, Pa., banking comany led by veteran banker Jay Sidhu, is giving up nearly 20% of its ownership to venture into the greater Washington, D.C., market.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP) in Nashville has repaid the remaining $71.6 million of the $95 million it received from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program in December 2008.

The State National Bank of Big Spring in Texas is leading a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, becoming the first known community bank to file a lawsuit against the agency.

The risky practices at and implicit taxpayer guarantee for systemically dangerous megabanks are driving consumers to community-based banks.

Palmetto Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., is shedding more than $40 million of problem loans as part of its ongoing effort to clean up its balance sheet and return to profitability.