American Savings Bank in Honolulu has reached an out-of-court settlement with a 91-year-old customer who said she was swindled out of $900,000 by a former employee of the bank.

Sterling Financial Corp.'s first deal to buy a California community banking company is a big move south for the Spokane company as it seeks stronger growth than it has found in its home markets.

Atlantic Southern Financial Group Inc. in Macon, Ga., said it plans to acquire the $73 million-asset First Community Bank of Georgia in Roberta for $18.3 million in stock.

WASHINGTON - Florida lawmakers have introduced a number of federal bills aimed at addressing high insurance costs, but they acknowledge it may take another Katrina-like disaster to trigger a governmental solution.

A. William Schenck, who resigned last month as Pennsylvania's secretary of banking, is starting a Pittsburgh bank that will cater to midsize businesses, professionals, and high-net-worth individuals.

Dearborn Bancorp Inc. in Michigan announced plans to purchase the $248 million-asset Fidelity Financial Corp. of Michigan for $70 million.

A former community banker running for Illinois treasurer has pledged to put more of the state's money in community banks - but he has also made a pledge not to take campaign contributions from banks.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has hit Amcore Financial Inc. with a cease-and-desist order requiring the Rockford, Ill., company to strengthen its Bank Secrecy Act compliance.

Add Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, to the growing roster of Midwest banking companies buying their way into Florida.

For more information on this data, visit Novantas LLC and Market Rates Insight.

Willow Grove Bancorp Inc. in Wayne, Pa., said in a restatement of its fiscal fourth-quarter results that it earned about $1.5 million less than it initially reported.

BankUnited Financial Corp.'s stock has taken its lumps in the last month as investors have grown leery of its reliance on option adjustable-rate mortgages in a cooling real estate market.

Community Banks Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa., has struck its second bank acquisition deal in a week.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria is counting on its name recognition in Mexico to woo unbanked Hispanic immigrants in southern California.

NEW ENGLAND

Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. in Pennsylvania is forming an equipment leasing subsidiary that will do business nationwide.

Panhandle State Bank, a unit of the $781 million-asset Intermountain Community Bancorp in Sandpoint, Idaho, has acquired Premier Financial Services, a private investment firm in Priest River.

Former First Community Capital Corp. chief executive Nigel Harrison is wasting no time building a new Texas banking company.

Beverly Hills Bancorp Inc.'s foray into construction and development lending is not going as smoothly as planned.