Regulators say risk-based capital is the ratio they most want to see strengthened, community bankers say. That's a problem because minimum requirements could rise and examiners are said to exercise broad discretion in enforcement.

Pacific Mercantile Bancorp in Costa Mesa, Calif., has restructured its planned stock sale to an institutional investor in a move that will save it almost $1 million and increase a key capital ratio.

BancVue of Austin, Texas is exiting the credit card business in order to devote more attention to its primary business of helping banks and credit unions attract more customers through high-yield checking and savings products.

Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. has put some of its excess capital to work by repurchasing 5.4 million warrants in a move that would eliminate potential dilution.

First California Financial Group Inc. in Westlake Village, Calif., has agreed to buy a small California bank about a month after announcing that it had hired an investment bank to explore its options.

A judge's ruling against the sale of BankAtlantic to BB&T could also empower holders of trust preferred securities to play a bigger role in M&A.

First Republic Bank in San Francisco said certain shareholders, including members of its management team, will sell up to 11.8 million shares of common stock in a secondary offering.

PrivateBancorp Inc. has named a president of personal client services to oversee a new line of business that combines some of the Chicago company's offerings.

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue said Tuesday that she has nominated Ray Grace to take over as the state's banking commissioner.

Sen. Mark Udall, a Colorado Democrat, has placed a hold on a community bank bill that would increase the 500-shareholder threshold that requires a small bank to register with the SEC. He is conditioning his support on the advancement of a separate bill that would raise the cap on credit union member business lending.

The Wisconsin private equity company, not to be confused with the New York firm, wants more capital to invest in smaller banks. Jon Bruss, the company's CEO, shares his thoughts on banking, private equity and what the future holds for struggling banks.

James E. Young, the longtime president and chief executive of Citizens Trust Bank in Atlanta, died on Monday after a brief battle with cancer. He was 62.

Carlile Bancshares Inc. in Fort Worth announced late Monday that it is acquiring Northstar Financial Corp. in Denton, Texas, and its subsidiary, the $950 million-asset Northstar Bank.

People's United has agreed to pay $3.25 million to acquire Citizens Financial' 52 branches inside Stop & Shop supermarkets on Long Island and elsewhere in New York, plus four traditional branches.

Past reports on industry health showed limited, if any, loan growth, but that changed in the most recent Quarterly Banking Profile.

BankAtlantic Chairman Alan Levan indicated that a court decision to block the sale of the company's thrift unit to BB&T could essentially derail the deal.

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Prosperity's agreement to pay $529 million for American State Financial is one of the priciest deals since Comerica agreed to buy Sterling Bancshares more than a year ago, but the reaction to it is much more positive than it was to Comerica's deal.

Southcoast Financial Corp. in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., reported a fourth-quarter loss of $4.8 million, or nearly five times larger than what it lost a year earlier.

Over the past couple of years, the seemingly dull topic of time management has become one that senior managers are showing increased interest in discussing with their teams. I suspect this has as least something to do with the fact that we are asking smaller and smaller branch teams to accomplish more with less.