Changes as a result of Dodd-Frank should allow banks easier access to new markets nationwide and likely result in increased competition and industry consolidation.

Bank of Georgetown in Washington, D.C., has raised more than $25 million in fresh capital that it will use to fund its continued expansion in the city and surrounding suburbs.

Small-business owners prefer bank loans over other forms of financing, but banks remain reluctant to lend due to pressure from their regulators, according to a survey released Monday by the Graziado School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

Boston Private Bank & Trust has sold one of its four Seattle-area branches to fast-growing Heritage Financial Corp.

First Midwest Bank in Itasca, Ill., has hired longtime Chicago-area banking executive Mark G. Sander as its new president and chief operating officer.

American 1 Federal Credit Union in Jackson, Mich., has agreed to acquire Premier Financial Credit Union of Clinton Township, Mich.

St. Mary's Bank, a credit union based in Manchester, N.H., has pledged to make $2.5 million in new funds available for low-income Home Loan Payment Relief mortgages, a subprime mortgage program that was developed by the Credit Union National Association.

Expectations had been high that 2011 would bring some serious moving and shaking among community banks. But the murky economy and regulatory uncertainty have discouraged buyers, turning them skeptical and picky.

Bank of New Jersey in Fort Lee has hired Paul A. Meyer as a senior vice president and commercial loan officer.

Having already raised $50 million in fresh capital this year, Seattle Bank announced this week that it has received another $12 million from investors that its chief executive officer said the once-ailing bank would use to accelerate its growth plan.

MB Financial Inc. in Chicago is looking to looking rid itself of its asset-quality problems in one fell swoop.

Having already raised $50 million in fresh capital this year, Seattle Bank announced this week that it has received another $12 million from investors that its chief executive officer said the once-ailing bank would use to accelerate its growth plan.

MB Financial Inc. in Chicago is looking to looking rid itself of its asset-quality problems in one fell swoop.

Malhotra and his business partner, Yaron Ben-Zvi, Gratio's chief operating officer, got some powerful validation on Thursday, as nearly 300 attendees of the sixth Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum in New Orleans selected GoalMine as the winner of the Core Underbanked Innovators Challenge.

TrustCo Bank Corp. in Glenville, N.Y., plans to sell 13.6 million shares of stock in a public offering.

It's unclear whether "Sharia ban" state laws would affect the growth of Islamic finance. But at the very least, the political climate is certainly not fostering a welcoming environment.

Washington Federal Inc. in Seattle is raising its profile in New Mexico with a deal to acquire six branches and $253 million of deposits from Charter Bank in Albuquerque.

The Small Business Lending Fund will not provide the boost to economic activity hoped for when it was enacted. Banks have again had the rug pulled out from under them.

Two weeks after striking a deal to buy Capitol Bancorp's Seattle unit, AmericanWest is moving into the California market with a deal for Capitol's Sunrise Bank in San Diego.

The board of directors at Community Partners Bancorp in Middletown, N.J., has elected Frank Patock as chairman of both the company and its bank subsidiary, Two River Community Bank.