CalWest Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., has raised $14 million through a private offering to recapitalize and to retire its Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.

Ken Karels has guided the South Dakota company through an initial public offering and its first acquisition in three years. He is worth watching next year as ag lending comes under pressure and as Great Western continues hunting for acquisitions.

F&M Bank in Clarksville, Tenn., has named Tennessee banking veteran Brad Barrett to its board of directors.

BofI Holding's CEO Greg Garrabrants should be basking in the glow of his bank's record earnings growth and its potentially transformative acquisition of H&R Block Bank. Instead, he's fighting to regain the confidence of shareholders spooked by allegations that the online bank violated anti-money-laundering laws.

Financial institutions considering whether to bank marijuana-related businesses often receive inaccurate information about the emerging industry. Here are five common myths.

A year ago we asked BankThink contributors to make bold predictions about how the financial industry would evolve in 2015. Here's a look back at their forecasts and the actual outcomes.

The $1 billion-asset holding company for Veritex Community Bank redeemed about $8 million worth of SBLF shares.

Middleburg Financial in Middleburg, Va., plans to record a $3 million impairment charge tied to a participation loan in which the borrower has been accused of fraud.

Citizens & Northern in Wellsboro, Pa., has paid off a $24 million repurchase agreement and will record a loss on the prepayment.

Birmingham Bloomfield Bancshares in Birmingham, Mich., has redeemed its shares in the Small Business Lending Fund and exited the program.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., has hired Fiserv as core processor and it plans to record a $1.4 million charge to cover the vendor switch.

BankMobile attracted 100,000 users in its first year and with the acquisition of a couple of business lines from collegiate servicer Higher One it is projecting it will have 2 million by July.

American Banker predicted these five community bankers would make news in 2015, and they did not disappoint. Some pursued M&A, one went public, and one even helped break up his bank.

We revisit some of the best comments readers posted in 2015. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com and BankThink.com articles, except where noted.

Directors at credit unions used to work for free, but that is starting to change — and it's rankling banking industry officials who say it's another example of the nonprofit cooperatives mimicking banks without shouldering the same tax burden.

The $3.9 billion-asset holding company for Busey Bank redeemed all its remaining shares in the program at a total redemption price of about $72.8 million.

Franklin Savings Bank in Franklin, N.H., has tapped its chief operating officer to succeed Jeffery Savage, when he retires as CEO next year.

Another institution helped push New York Community Bancorp to add cash to its bid, a filing disclosed. While Astoria's board was concerned about NYCB's plans for an aggressive balance sheet restructuring and capital raise, management believed the other suitor's offer had more execution risk.

Tri-Valley Bank in San Ramon, Calif., said that its largest individual shareholder is making a bid to double his stake.

Finally released from a long-standing regulatory order, FNBH in Michigan is looking forward to ramping its lending, expanding its capabilities in wealth management and moving forward on plans to revamp its core processing system.