Community bankers have been thirsting for more merger and acquisition activity, and Eastern's announcement Tuesday that it has agreed to pay $163 million for Wainwright is the second-biggest proposed bank acquisition of the year.

Wainwright Bank & Trust Co. has agreed to be acquired for about $163 million — twice the company's previous value — by privately held Eastern Bank Corp., merging a pair of eastern Massachusetts lenders.

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday issued enforcement actions against two community banks in New York. According to separate agreements, the $2.4 billion-asset Smithtown Bancorp Inc. and the $393 million-asset BNB Financial Services Corp. will no longer be able to declare or pay dividends without prior approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

All is not well in "credit union land," as insiders half-jokingly call the industry, and the challenges have prevented credit unions from taking advantage of bank stumbles.

Sheyenne Bancorp Inc. is applying for bank holding company status from the Federal Reserve to buy out a bank in North Dakota. Sheyenne would become a subsidiary of First Holding Company of Park River Inc., which filed the application with the Federal Reserve June 22.

Despite analysts' skepticism, it appears Banner Corp. of Walla Walla, Wash., is advancing in its attempts to raise capital. The $4.6 billion-asset company announced late last week that it would sell 75 million shares of common stock at $2 a share.

After its long-running merger talks collapsed in March, Republic First Bancorp Inc. in Philadelphia today finds itself in a more fortunate position than many banks — it has a Plan B.

Fox Chase Bancorp Inc. is one step closer to completing its conversion from a mutual to a stock company. After the conversion is completed, which is expected on June 29, the banking subsidiary will have a new parent with 14.55 million shares of outstanding common stock.

Three more banks failed late Friday, at an estimated additional cost to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. of $285 million.

Three more banks failed late Friday, at an estimated additional cost to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. of $285 million.

Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc. in Madison has been warned by the Nasdaq that it no longer complies with listing requirements.

Seven months after announcing its third attempt to buy a bank, the blank-check company Western Liberty Bancorp has changed the terms of its most recent deal.

Seven months after announcing its third attempt to buy a bank, the blank-check company Western Liberty Bancorp has changed the terms of its most recent deal.

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Federal regulators have ordered Cowlitz Bancorp of Longview, Wash., to raise capital or accept a sales offer by July 15, the company said Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fortune Bank in Seattle said Thursday that it plans to sell up to $460 million in stock through an initial public offering.

WSFS Financial Corp. in Wilmington, Del., announced an agreement Thursday to acquire Christiana Bank & Trust Co. from National Penn Bancshares Inc. for $34.5 million.

There's a group of community banks flush with capital, unburdened by delinquent loans and busily expanding assets — at the expense of troubled kin. The de novo class of '07 and '08 fortuitously opened its doors just before regulators said Do Not Enter, but late enough in the game to realize strict loan standards were necessary to navigate the real estate recession. Now they're coming for troubled banks' lunch money.

The OTS's watchdog said the agency was ineffective in regulating BankUnited before the Coral Gables, Fla., thrift's 2009 failure and improperly allowed BankUnited to backdate a capital infusion.

Re: "Mostly Smaller Banks Still Using Fed Discount Lending Window" [Dow Jones, June 18]: While factually correct, the conclusion drawn from the statistics cited in this story may not take into account the disproportionate impact of the bailout program.