Cherokee Banking Co. in Canton, Ga., announced Tuesday that it is going private to reduce its legal, accounting, and regulatory costs.

Now that PrivateBancorp Inc. has established itself in some of the Midwest's more affluent markets, it is ready to start following its customers to Florida and Arizona, where many of them spend their winters.

A Connecticut man's admission last week that he bought shares of NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. illegally when it went public last year illustrates the lengths to which some will go to get in on thrift conversions.

After months of delay, Nara Bancorp Inc. of Los Angeles has finally reported earnings for the first quarter and all of 2004.

By acquiring United National Bank, East West Bancorp of San Marino, Calif., would overtake longtime rival Cathay General Bancorp as the nation's largest Asian-American banking company.

The $1.5 billion-asset ABC Bancorp of Moultrie, Ga., is buying the $255 million First National Banc Inc. of St. Marys, Ga., for $34.8 million.

Many banks sell themselves because they lack the capital to grow, but 1st State Bancorp Inc. in Burlington, N.C., is selling because it has too much.

North Shore Bank of Brookfield, Wis., announced Thursday it had agreed to buy Illinois State Bank of Lake in the Hills.

MAF Bancorp Inc.’s deal to buy the third-largest bank in Kane County, Ill., would instantly give it a much higher profile in Chicago’s fast-growing northwest suburbs.

MIDWEST

No state has fewer community banks than Hawaii, and one group of bank organizers says the time has come to help fill that void.

Though the capital raised by the average start-up set a record last year, a would-be Internet bank targeting prosperous African-Americans is struggling to find investors.

The House voted 405 to 2 Tuesday for a bill designed to protect military personnel from abusive insurance and mutual fund products.

By adding coffee bars, Internet kiosks, and art exhibits to some of its branches, Umpqua Bank in Portland, Ore., has sought to create an atmosphere that customers are in no rush to leave. Ideally, someone might hang around long enough to apply for a loan or open an account.

Conventional wisdom in banking says it is cheaper to build than buy, but Interchange Financial Services Corp. of Saddle Brook, N.J., is turning that axiom on its head.

Michael P. Rose defines the “emerging affluent” as highly paid professionals who want help with financial planning but are not quite rich enough to interest traditional private banks.

Fifty years ago Ridgewood Savings Bank of Brooklyn built New York City’s first drive-through banking lanes as a convenience for busy Brooklyn and Long Island residents.

Western Sierra Bancorp in Cameron Park, Calif., and Gold Country Financial Services Inc. in Maryville have terminated their merger, originally scheduled to close in April.

With less than 1.875 million shares outstanding and fewer than 300 shareholders, Centrix Bank in Bedford, N.H., is not on many investors’ radar screens.