The board of directors of the struggling Independence Federal Savings Bank in Washington has named John A. Hall president and chief executive officer.

Atlantic Capital Bank in Atlanta is not a typical start-up.

Community Trust Bancorp Inc. in Pikeville, Ky., has a deal to buy the $156 million-asset Eagle Bank Inc. of Williamstown, Ky., for roughly $37 million in cash and stock.

Seven law firms have filed suits seeking class-action status against Sterling Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., which disclosed May 24 that a loan scheme at its equipment-financing unit would force it to take a charge of $145 million to $165 million against last year's fourth-quarter results.

Nineteen community banking companies have been added to the America's Community Bankers Nasdaq stock index, ACB announced Thursday. The index, established in late 2003, now includes 517 bank and thrift companies with a combined market capitalization of about $193 billion.

Carver Bancorp Inc. of New York said Thursday that earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31 jumped 23.5%, to $1.3 million. Earnings per share rose 22%, to 50 cents.

Executives at Security National Bank in Sioux City, Iowa, say they believe they have found a way to minimize the bank's exposure to debit card fraud: lower transaction limits.

Even before opening their doors as a combined company, two merging North Carolina banks have found themselves in the midst of controversy.

MIDWEST

The largest investor in a Philadelphia thrift is taking his battle with its board of directors to new heights.

American Savings Bank in Honolulu has settled a lawsuit with its former security chief, who had claimed that the thrift covered up a branch employee's financial abuse of an elderly customer.

Franklin Bank Corp. in Houston has just completed its largest acquisition ever, and its chief executive says it is not done buying Texas banks.

A Washington State mortgage lender has withdrawn its application to form a bank after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. raised concerns regarding its lending concentrations.

Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids announced that Gerald R. Johnson Jr., its founding chairman and chief executive, will retire June 30.

Mercantile Bancorp Inc. of Quincy, Ill., agreed to sell its stake in New Frontier Bancshares Inc. of St. Charles, Mo., for $6.8 million in cash.

Central Bancompany Inc. of Jefferson City, Mo., plans to acquire the $280 million-asset Metcalf Bancshares Inc. of Overland Park, Kan., for $75 million in cash.

Reeling from the impact of a "sophisticated loan scheme" that will deplete much of its capital, Sterling Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., may have no choice but to sell itself, analysts said.

Coast Financial Holdings Inc. has lost more than 80% of its market value for the year, and recent events suggest that its problems are nowhere near resolution.

For the last three years the Small Business Administration has been funding its 7(a) and 504 loan programs with user fees charged to borrowers and lenders, eliminating the need for a congressional subsidy that been used for that purpose for five decades.