Concerned about robberies, Chappell Hill Bank began encouraging patrons to bring legally concealed weapons into its branch. Now the bank's unconventional CEO needs to find ways to bring in loans and reduce costs to ensure long-term survival.

Ahead of the planned sale of its credit card arm to Capital One Financial Corp., HSBC North America has renewed its private-label credit card agreements with Saks Inc. and three other retailers.

Lending officers should tempt consumers with the popular pantry item to test their self-control. Those who can't resist are less likely to pay back their loans.

Private Bank of Buckhead in Atlanta is looking to open its second branch in suburban Decatur.

Banks are between a rock and a hard place these days in figuring out how to recoup the cost of doing business without sparking a public outcry.

NexBank Capital Inc. in Dallas has raised roughly $20 million in fresh capital this year after recently completing a stock sale to group of investors.

Participants in a recent American Banker roundtable debated whether banks should keep adding deposits to build customer relationships down the road.

Security Federal Corp. in Aiken, S.C.. has reorganized as a bank holding company and its subsidiary, Security Federal Bank, has converted from a federally chartered thrift to a state-regulated commercial bank.

CEO James Smith invokes image of George Bailey in telling ABC World News With Diane Sawyer that Webster's mortgage modification program has paid off.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. in Nashville, Tenn., has moved a step closer toward exiting the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Continuing to bulk up in Texas through bite-sized deals, Independent Bank Group Inc. in McKinney said this week that it is buying the $155 million-asset I Bank Texas in Austin.

NB&T Financial Group Inc. in Wilmington, Ohio, said it expects fourth-quarter provision for loan losses to be "substantially" higher than it was last quarter due to a likely default on a loan to a single commercial customer that has $1 million balance.

Federal regulators seem to be of two minds about the Community Reinvestment Act, a law with an explicit and limited congressional purpose of requiring each banking regulator "to use its authority when examining financial institutions, to encourage such institutions to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institutions."

Bank Transfer Day was supposedly a shot across banking's bow — a warning of customer unrest, diminished trust and fee intolerance.

Broadway Financial Corp. in Los Angeles said Wednesday that it once again complies with Nasdaq listing requirements after filing its third-quarter earnings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

StellarOne Corp. in Charlottesville, Va., has repurchased the remaining $22.5 million in preferred stock it issued under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Banks trying to solve their checking account woes are going the way of the cable company and increasingly selling tiered and bundled packages of services.

A Virginia lawmaker is urging his colleagues in Richmond to consider creating a state-owned bank that would use deposits from residents and state agencies to lend to local businesses and stimulate economic growth.

Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. in Lititz, Pa., is planning to eliminate nearly 350 jobs in Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to notices it filed with labor departments in both states this month.

Add NorthEast Community Bank in White Plains, N.Y., to the growing list of federally chartered thrifts converting to state charters.