Independence Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., has dismissed Gordon Baird as chief executive and suspended its development of a real-time payments technology.

Community banks merit more regulatory relief, particularly those that hold mortgage originations. That was a key message from James Bullard, St. Louis Fed president, during a community banking conference in St. Louis hosted by the Federal Reserve Board and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Bankers need to show they are in control of relationships with outside vendors, must be ready to respond to M&A-related protests and should be as concerned about economic growth as interest rates, according to the St. Louis Fed's supervisory chief.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, will add $45 million to its litigation reserve in the third quarter after a judge ordered it to repay $71.8 million to the victims of a fraud scheme.

Allowing branch employees to become personally involved in marketing and merchandising tends to make them more engaged as salespeople.

Great Southern Bancorp in Springfield, Mo., has agreed to buy 12 branches around St. Louis from Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati.

OFG Bancorp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will record a pretax loss of roughly $21 million after its sells all remaining nonperforming assets from its 2010 purchase of the failed Eurobank.

Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu is getting out of the aircraft leasing business.

Get a bunch of community bankers together and they start sharing efficiency ratios like golf scores. There seem to be more bogeys than holes in one these days in the course of cost-cutting.

The embattled Bancorp in Wilmington, Del., has named Steven Turowski chief risk officer and submitted some previously delayed financial reports that shed more light on its financial condition.

A long-expected change to the rules for provisioning against bad loans is coming soon, and opponents are going on the offensive, arguing that it is impractical and would be especially hard for small banks to comply with. But few concessions, if any, are predicted.

Anchor Bancorp in Lacey, Wash., is facing a renewed proxy battle from activist investor Joel Lawson 4th ahead of its annual shareholders meeting in late October.

Centrue Financial in Ottawa, Ill., plans to sell 4.8 million shares on behalf of stockholders. The shares would be worth $77 million based on the most recent price of $16 per share.

Nicolet Bankshares in Green Bay, Wis., has redeemed about half of its outstanding preferred stock in the Small Business Lending Fund.

1st Century Bancshares in Los Angeles has filed plans to raise $30 million through a sale of common stock.

The deadline for EMV migration in this country is this Thursday. Here's what will and won't happen on that day, and what challenges lie ahead for banks and their customers.

A number of New York banks are stepping away from medallion lending as delinquencies rise and competition for fares intensifies.

The $4.8 billion-asset HomeStreet said in a press release Monday that it will pay $49.8 million in stock, or $11.70 a share, and $5.5 million in cash for the $200 million-asset Orange County Business Bank.

The $417 million-asset company appointed John Kaufman, 33, as CFO on Friday, according to a news release. Kaufman was also named CFO of MSB's Millington Savings Bank.

Pinnacle Bancorp in Central City, Neb., has agreed to buy Woodhaven National Bank in Fort Worth, Texas.