United Bankshares Inc. of Charleston, W.Va., said it is repositioning its balance sheet by selling securities and paying off debt.

Nevada State Bank in Las Vegas is betting that if it gives small-business owners something for free, they will be so appreciative they will become customers.

Penn Liberty Financial Corp. of Wayne, Pa., said it raised $13.8 million in its second private placement stock offering.

WASHINGTON — Are banks making too much money on their Small Business Administration loans?

Crescent Financial Corp. of Cary, N.C., has agreed to acquire Port City Capital Bank of Wilmington, N.C., for $39.26 million.

WesBanco Inc. of Wheeling, W.Va., said it would take a first-quarter after-tax charge of $4.9 million as part of a balance-sheet restructuring.

Coastal Bancshares Acquisition Corp. of Houston announced Thursday it had agreed to buy Intercontinental Bank Shares Corp. in San Antonio for $16.8 million in cash.

Western Alliance Bancorp in Las Vegas is teaming up with an investor group to start a bank in Oakland, Calif.

Commerce Bancshares Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., announced Wednesday that it had agreed to buy Boone National Savings and Loan Association in Columbia, Mo., for roughly $31 million in cash.

The chief executive of New York’s Carver Bancorp Inc. says its deal for a small Brooklyn bank would instantly establish Carver as a commercial lender and help it stand its ground against larger banks continuing to enter inner-city neighborhoods.

The largest commercial bank headquartered in Florida got a rare "needs to improve" rating on its Community Reinvestment Act examination, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday.

MIDWEST

Centra Financial Holdings Inc. in Morgantown, W.Va., is nearing a deal to buy the $236 million-asset Smithfield State Bank in Pennsylvania, Centra's chairman and chief executive officer, Douglas J. Leech, said Tuesday.

Bank lobbyists are staying on the sidelines of the immigration-reform debate, but individual bankers are watching the action in Washington with keen interest.

Union State Bank in Arkansas City, Kan., has agreed to buy the State Bank in Winfield.

WASHINGTON - A Senate subcommittee that has been examining the effectiveness of government agencies will take a close look this week at the embattled Small Business Administration.

Bancshares of Florida Inc. in Naples has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer up to 2.5 million common shares.

Bleak earnings prospects fueled by continued pressure from the flat yield curve caused one analyst to downgrade three New York thrift companies' stocks Monday.