Julie Castle, the president of the wealth management arm at First Interstate BancSystem in Billings, Mont., said she was worried at the beginning of the year that the unit might become another casualty of poor economic conditions.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said examiners did not take the steps necessary to rein in risky practices at First Centennial Bank in Redlands, Calif.

WASHINGTON — Following the largest failure of the year, and the collapse of a small mutual in Pennsylvania, regulators shut three western banks late Friday ...

WASHINGTON — Following the largest failure of the year, and the collapse of a small mutual in Pennsylvania, regulators shut three western banks late Friday, bringing the year's failure total to 77.

Capital Insight Partners Inc., a Chicago investment bank, is recruiting experienced bankers to pair with private-equity firms that want to roll up failed institutions around the country.

With $225 million of fresh capital on the way, Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., is on the lookout to buy failed banks — both in its market area and beyond.

First Farmers Financial Corp. in Converse, Ind., and CB Bank Shares Inc. in Russiaville, Ind., said Thursday that they have agreed to merge.

MIDWEST

With demand for loans surging and investment capital from large banks drying up, community development financial institutions are caught in cash crunch.

Advancements in technology have made online account opening and funding affordable for any financial institution. However, if it is to generate maximum return on investment, the new offering has to be marketed correctly.

The capital-strapped Amcore Financial Inc. of Rockford, Ill., announced Wednesday that it has agreed to sell two of its Wisconsin branches to First National Bank and Trust Co., in Beloit, Wis.

The National Credit Union Administration on Wednesday closed Community One FCU, Nevada's eighth-largest credit union.

Guaranty Financial Group Inc. is the talk of Texas this week. With the $14.4 billion-asset Austin company warning of its imminent failure, speculation has abounded about who will make the winning bid on its lucrative branches and deposits.

Golden 1 Credit Union has agreed to use Fiserv Inc.'s consumer remote deposit capture service, the Brookfield, Wis., vendor said Wednesday.

First Federal Bankshares Inc. in Sioux City, Iowa, is running out of time to raise capital, and now it also needs to find a chief executive.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., better known as Farmer Mac, reported that its second-quarter earnings climbed 18% on sharply higher net investment gains.

Central Virginia Bankshares in Powhatan said Tuesday that it swung to a loss of $255,943 in the second quarter, from a $909,577 profit the year earlier.

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CapGen Financial Partners, a private-equity firm founded by former Comptroller of the Currency Eugene Ludwig, has signed a letter of intent to invest up to $15 million in Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida.

For years banks from other states have been eager to enter Texas. Now at least a handful of them are weighing branch sales there. It's not that these sellers have soured on the Lone Star State, which continues to hold up relatively well despite the recession. It's just that they need capital.