Macatawa Bank Corp. in Holland, Mich., said its banking subsidiary has entered into a formal agreement with regulators that requires higher-than-typical capital ratios and orders the bank to clean up its asset portfolio.

The parent company of HeritageBank of the South in Albany, Ga., announced a deal Thursday to acquire five branches from the Park Avenue Bank, which has struggled with credit-quality problems.

With an overflowing pot of capital at his small New Century Bank, Jay S. Sidhu is ready to make some big deals.

NEW ENGLAND

PacWest Bancorp in San Diego has sold off a significant portion of its troubled loans at a steep discount in an attempt to refocus on growth.

Sterling Bancshares Inc. in Houston has hit speed bumps including a terminated branch deal, an earnings restatement and a sharp rise in nonperforming assets.

Supporting the ideal of a bank on the corner that knows every customer is not merely some nostalgic notion of America. Rather, it is a necessity for the success of our local economy

Financial institutions need to move beyond brochures and classes if they are serious about improving their customers' financial capability, and they are well positioned to do so.

Naugatuck Valley Mutual has joined a growing list of companies planning second-step conversions, which would give its subsidiary capital to buy Southern Connecticut Bancorp.

Cascade Bancorp's largest shareholder, in affiliation with a PE firm, agreed to invest $65 million into the struggling bank — but only if it found capital elsewhere first.

Taylor Capital Group Inc. in Rosemont, Ill., announced it is selling its corporate trust business to Amalgamated Bank of Chicago.

Sonoma Valley Bancorp has been required to restate its third-quarter results after a recent regulatory exam.

Small banks face myriad and often frustrating obstacles to acquiring failed banks. But some smart strategies have separated the successful bidders from the rest, including raising excess capital well before a bid, targeting fewer and smaller banks, tracking enforcement actions of potential failures and bringing in well-seasoned management to see a deal through.

IMGCAP(1)]

The parent company of American Federal Savings Bank in Helena, Mont., has gotten regulatory approval to complete the second step of its conversion to a stock company.

Promontory Interfinancial Network, already known for providing coverage through its certificate of deposit network, is set to announce today that it plans a May launch for a product to protect a customer's liquid funds.

WASHINGTON — Four failures late Friday cost the government an additional $1 billion.Among the closings, which brought the year's total to 20, was that of $3.6 billion-asset La Jolla Bank in La Jolla, Calif. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sold La Jolla's operations to OneWest Bank in Pasadena in the second recent deal for the buyers of the failed IndyMac Bank.

WASHINGTON — Four failures late Friday cost the government an additional $1 billion.Among the closings, which brought the year's total to 20, was that of $3.6 billion-asset La Jolla Bank in La Jolla, Calif. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sold La Jolla's operations to OneWest Bank in Pasadena in the second recent deal for the buyers of the failed IndyMac Bank.

Flush with capital and newly liberated from the Treasury's Tarp restrictions, Umpqua Holdings Corp. is embarking on a consolidation quest in the Pacific Northwest.

New Century Bank, Jay S. Sidhu's most recent endeavor, has increased its capital by 180% as it seeks to embark on a major growth spurt.