Consumer groups have long argued that bank consolidation leads to diminished competition and higher loan rates in low-income neighborhoods.

ITLA Capital Corp. in La Jolla, Calif., has signed a deal that gives its customers free use of Wells Fargo & Co.'s branches and automated teller machines.

After losing close to $300,000 last year, Southern Connecticut Bancorp Inc. in New Haven expects to post a profit for the first quarter, said Michael M. Ciaburri, its president and chief operating officer.

Most banks build branches in communities where people already live, but First Banks Inc.'s current strategy is to open branches in areas where it expects people will be moving.

Throughout its 53-year history the Small Business Administration has always made disaster-relief loans directly, but after enduring months of criticism for its response to Hurricane Katrina, the agency is considering letting private-sector lenders make the loans instead.

House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas is not too pleased with the National Credit Union Administration these days.

NorthStar Bancshares Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to sell itself to Enterprise Financial Services Corp. of Clayton for $36 million in cash and stock.

Umpqua Bank is tweaking its branch design again, this time to fit better in dense urban neighborhoods.

NBC Capital Corp. in Starkville, Miss., is aggressively expanding outside its home state into faster-growing markets of the Southeast.

Activist investors challenging the management team at Synergy Financial Group Inc. in Cranford, N.J., have won the support of Institutional Shareholder Services for their bid to elect two representatives to Synergy's board.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd., of Lansing, Mich., has formed a wealth management subsidiary called Capitol Wealth Advisors. The unit, which will be based in Charlotte, is expected to be up and running by the end of the second quarter. It is meant to serve the richer customers of Capitol's 42 banks, which operate in 13 states.

National Bancshares Inc. of Bettendorf, Iowa, has agreed to acquire Metrocorp Inc. of East Moline, Ill., for $79 million.

SOUTHWEST

Dozens of small, publicly traded community banks have delisted their stocks from major exchanges in recent years to lower their compliance costs, but the parent of a small Maryland bank is going in the opposite direction.

NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. chairman and chief executive Peyton R. Patterson spent an entire morning last month serving complimentary cups of coffee to commuters in Fairfield County, Conn., as they boarded their trains.

First Banks Inc. of St. Louis agreed to acquire Pittsfield Community Bancorp Inc. in Illinois.

Sterling Bancorp of New York has agreed to buy PL Services LP, a specialty lender serving the temporary staffing industry.

Sun Bancorp Inc. in Vineland, N.J., said it expects to report first-quarter earnings of 20 to 21 cents a share, or 4 to 5 cents below analysts' estimates.