Bankers spoke openly about their frustration with new regulations during the ABA's annual conference, with one likening it to being repeatedly punched in the head.

Second-guessers are "short-term" thinkers who underestimate the long-term value of the customer relationships the deposits bring, CEO John Stumpf says.

Piedmont Community Bank Holdings Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., said Monday that it received regulatory approval to buy a majority stake in Crescent Financial Corp. for $75 million.

Enterprise Bancorp Inc. in Lowell, Mass., posted third-quarter earnings of $2.9 million, up almost 8% year over year, due to strong loan growth.

FNB United Corp. has completed its acquisition of Bank of Granite Corp., part of the unprecedented merger of two ailing banks in North Carolina.

Fred Joseph, Colorado's banking commissioner, said Community Banks of Colorado should have been able to sell its branches in a bid for more time to resolve its problems. But the FDIC and the Fed overruled him — and then failed the bank.

WASHINGTON - The credit union industry has been lobbying the powerful congressional committee charged with reducing the deficit, seeking to ensure that credit unions preserve their tax-exempt status.

Bank of Hawaii Corp. in Honolulu posted third-quarter earnings of 92 cents a share, nine cents more than the average expectation of analysts.

Anchor Bancorp's losses widened in the third quarter, though the Lacey, Wash.-based company shrunk its nonperforming assets.

Metro Bancorp Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa., posted a third-quarter loss of $5.7 million due to increases in the loan loss provision and chargeoffs.

Despite economic gloom, a number of industries are poised for success, according to IBISWorld research. Here is a sampling of industries projected to produce solid growth over the next five years.

The Federal Reserve usurps authority usually held by state regulators and fails a Colorado bank.

Mark Conner, former president of FirstCity Bank of Stockbridge, Ga., pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and perjury, according to the Justice Department Friday. FirstCity Bank was closed in March 2009.

Two community banks in Georgia, and one in Florida, were closed late Friday at a cost of more than $130 million to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Under an order from regulators to raise fresh capital, Central Federal Corp. in Fairlawn, Ohio, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday that its shareholders have approved a plan to more than quadruple its number of outstanding shares.

Lending is nothing to joke about these days, as a SunTrust Banks Inc. executive learned at the Risk Management Association's annual conference Monday.

SVB Financial Group's stock was up sharply Friday after the company reported third-quarter earnings that handily beat analysts' estimates.

Despite a rough economic forecast, panelists at a recent Risk Management Association conference believe they have found areas poised to thrive.

MB Financial Inc. in Chicago managed to produce a third-quarter profit after its credit costs fell dramatically, though shrinking revenue disappointed analysts.

But the Green Bay, Wisc., bank is finding new loans and employees thanks to the sale of rival M&I, Flynn says.