Fast-growing Signature Bank in New York announced Thursday that it has opened a new office in Manhattan and recruited a team of bankers from HSBC USA to join one of its private-client banking offices in Queens.

Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., has named longtime California banking executive Simone Lagomarsino as its new president and chief executive officer and as CEO of its subsidiary, Heritage Oaks Bank.

Foreclosures continue to decimate communities around the nation, with black neighborhoods being the hardest hit. Some pundits and politicians point to federal policies that encouraged homeownership in low- and moderate-income communities, coupled with reckless behavior on the part of greedy homeowners, as the crux of the problem. One example is the statement by Fox News reporter Neil Cavuto that "loaning to minorities and risky borrowers is a disaster." To the contrary, our recent research demonstrates that it is outside investors living in other, predominantly white neighborhoods, not local homeowners, who account for the adverse impact on our nation's black communities.

Capitol Federal Financial Inc. in Topeka, Kan., has decided to wait until its one-year anniversary as a 100% stock-owned company before before pursuing a stock buyback program.

The Treasury Department said this week it will distribute $4.3 billion from the Small Business Lending Fund, about a third of the funds that banks were seeking from the program and only 14% of the total available.

BlueRidge Bank in Frederick, Md., is expanding its operations in the Baltimore metropolitan area by converting its year-old commercial loan office there into a full-service branch.

A ranking of midsize banking companies by funding rates in which SVB Financial places first and First BanCorp places last puts different business models, and local economic conditions, in full view.

For CrossFirst, the last three years have been filled with perseverance. It spent three years trying to raise capital and 13 months cleaning up a troubled bank before regulators would allow it to merge it with its de novo bank.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., plans to raise more than $200 million in fresh capital and will use the proceeds to repay the balance of its debt to the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Banks with assets of less than $10 billion are exempt from the Dodd-Frank Act's restrictions on debit interchange, but even those who are exempt from the law are still bracing for what they see as its inevitable effects on their checking accounts and other operations.

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Just days after announcing plans to raise $10 million in a preferred stock offering, BofI Holding Inc. in San Diego now says it intends to raise $18 million.

More banks deals occurred in California in the first half than in any other state. Its advanced economic recovery, plethora of targets and allure for investment dollars could spur more.

Community Pride Bank Corp. in Ham Lake, Minn., is under orders from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to use all of its "financial and managerial" resources to ensure that its bank subsidiary remains safe and sound.

Rogers Communications Inc., Canada's biggest wireless phone company, plans to start a bank, primarily focused on credit, payment and charge-card services, a filing with the Canadian government said.

The FDIC has terminated its consent order against Clarkston State Bank in Michigan after the bank recapitalized with investments from private citizens and current board members and made improvements in managing its loan portfolio.

Carlyle Group is set to join the growing ranks of publicly traded private equity firms, filing an initial public offering worth up to $100 million, although the amount of the offering is likely to change before the company's stock actually prices.

B of A spokesman Dan Frahm clarified late last week that the decision to stay in warehouse lending depends "to some extent on the interests of a potential buyer for our correspondent business.

A single acquirer picked up the operations of two failed Georgia banks late Friday in a deal costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. nearly $72 million.

Renasant Corp. in Tupelo, Miss., has completed its acquisition of RBC Bank's Birmingham, Ala.-based trust department.