A "major portion" of small commercial-property deals in the U.S. have fallen through because of stricter lending standards, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.

CenterState Banks (CSFL) in Davenport, Fla., is planning to merge its two subsidiary banks into a single bank as part of its ongoing effort to trim overhead and improve efficiency following its recent string of acquisitions.

C1 Bank in Tampa will give a Mercedes to customers who buy a $1 million, five-year CD.

The golf tournament has endured a tumultuous decade since Wachovia created the event to put itself on the national stage. Controversial deal negotiations have occurred there, it drew criticism from bank-bailout critics, and its name changed twice after Wells acquired Wachovia.

Continuing its aggressive expansion throughout the Southeast, Renasant Bank in Tupelo, Miss., is opening its first office in east Tennessee.

George Ramirez, the new chief diversity officer at San Francisco's Union Bank, didn't get the memo that people are purely expense items for banks.

Northeast Bancorp (NBN) of Lewiston, Maine, is looking to raise additional capital so it could continue to expand its loan portfolio.

EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., reduced the size of its public offering again on Thursday, just hours before its shares began trading.

Customers Bancorp, led by Jay Sidhu, is set to go public. The one-time Sovereign Bank chief and others say he has learned from the past about how to balance internal growth and acquisitions.

The Private Bank of California in Los Angeles is opening a new office in affluent — and crowded — Orange County and has hired three local bankers to manage the office and drum up business there.

Bankers usually fear Wal-Mart, Target and other big-box players. But nine banks and mortgage lenders have teamed up with Costco to offer an online mortgage service to its members, and more services may follow.

Atlantic Coast Financial (ACFC) of Jacksonville, Fla., reported a narrower loss in the first quarter than in previous quarters as it reduced its overhead and reiterated that it is still considering selling itself.

One of the obstacles to an acquisition is that the offers never make it to the board. They tend to come first through the target's CEO, who stands to lose a job (and compensation) in any sale.

Bryn Mawr Trust Company in Pennsylvania is expanding its banking operations into Delaware to go along with its wealth management business there.

EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., has reduced the size of its planned initial public offering, saying in an SEC filing it will offer 19.2 million shares to the public at $11 to $12 each, not the 12 to $14 each initially planned.

Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) is pairing with a Michigan retailer to substantially expand its presence in the state over the next decade.

LAS VEGAS — Troubled Silver State Schools CU said this afternoon it lost another $3.5 million for the first quarter, erasing all of its remaining net worth and leaving it only with the emergency assistance provided by its private deposit insurer ASI.

Ovation Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy most of Royal Palm Bank in Florida from Mercantile Bancorp.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) in Maine has struck its first deal in its 125-year history, announcing late Tuesday that it is buying substantially all of the assets and deposits of Border Trust Company in Augusta.

The San Luis Obispo, Calif., bank in five years went from a start-up to the winner in a bidding war between two bank suitors. Picking a good location and keeping its nose clean paid off, CEO Mark Crawford said.