WSFS Financial (WSFS) in Wilmington, Del., says that a discounted loan program it established late last year to help spur small-business expansion has been so well-received that the company is extending it through the end of June.

Industry observers are concerned that banks could get caught flat-footed as regulators ramp up oversight of Bank Secrecy Act and Anti Money Laundering policies.

Second-step conversions by mutual holding companies have been in a freeze since last summer, but at least one analyst believes that the market is set to thaw.

Pacific Valley Bank in Salinas, Calif., announced it intends to de-register its thinly traded shares and suspend filing periodic financial reports with the FDIC as a result of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act signed into law this month.

FVNB Corporation in Victoria, Texas, is expanding into the Austin and San Antonio markets with a deal to acquire the $270 million-asset First State Bank in New Braunfels.

Banks and credit unions are lobbying fiercely over legislation that would allow the latter to expand further into commercial lending.

Intervest Bancshares (IBCA) in New York said Monday that its first-quarter profit climbed 53% from the same period in 2011 due primarily to lower overhead and improved asset quality.

Chemical Financial (CHFC) reported first-quarter income of $12.4 million, up almost 35% from a year earlier, as the Midland, Mich., company's earnings were boosted by the sale of its merchant processing business.

Scores of community banks could soon deregister from the Securities and Exchange Commission due to a clause in the newly signed law. But some lawyers warn that activist investors could take advantage of banks that decide to stop filing documents with the SEC.

Some 350 banks are yet to pay back Tarp funds. A recent auction of preferred shares may signal a way out for the Treasury.

Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) of Green Bay, Wis., has hired two Bank of America (BAC) employees to lead a new office in Michigan as it looks to make commercial real estate loans in the Detroit area.

The state of Indiana has tapped a former banker to help restore credibility to its beleaguered revenue department.

The founder and chief executive of Vantage Point Bank in Fort Washington, Pa., has resigned after more than four years with the bank.

The Senate is preparing to consider legislation that would allow credit unions to engage in more commercial lending, a proposal that the industry has long championed. This proposal is a really bad idea, but because of the political constituency behind credit unions it may actually be passed into law. In the event, the National Credit Union Association and the U.S. taxpayer may be facing significant losses in the future.

An employee stole $301,000 from Liberty Bell Bank. Because the bank did not have insurance coverage, the theft took a bite out of the bank's bottom line. Instead of reporting net income of $375,000 for 2011, Liberty Bell's full-year profit was $74,000.

The Treasury Department has not said if it intends to auction off more stakes it owns in community banks, but Yadkin Valley Financial (YAVY) in Elkin, N.C., wants to be ready in case it does.

A recent credit union conference in Chicago featured a presentation of what a futuristic branch could look like.

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 the Ozarks (OZRK) in Little Rock said its first-quarter earnings increased 23% from the same period in 2011, to $18 million, on the strength of improved efficiency, solid growth in fee income and a continued decline in problem assets.

The FDIC is auctioning a collection of jewelry it inherited from the failed Tennessee Commerce Bank, marking the latest in a history of odd assets the agency has inherited through receivership. Ranging from sports franchises and film rights to casinos and taxis, the FDIC has unloaded scores of strange items over the years.