Pennant Management, which handles assets for community banks and other clients, disclosed that it could be holding up to $179 million in fake USDA-insured loans. Industry observers said the firm's failure to take certain precautions, along with weaknesses in the secondary market for USDA loans, invited fraud.

A community bank in Massachusetts has opened a branch that's a microcosm of forward-looking trends in retail bank design. Emphasis on the "micro" part.

Westamerica in San Rafael, Calif., reported lower quarterly earnings largely because of a narrower net interest margin.

AmericanWest Bank in Spokane, Wash., has agreed to buy the $468 million-asset Bank of Sacramento in California for $60 million in cash.

TD Bank NA, which lost electronic files containing information for as many as 260,000 customers in 2012, agreed to pay $850,000 to settle a multistate probe into the security breach, New York's attorney general said.

Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., reported a rise in third-quarter profits as net interest income reached a record high and provisions for bad loans fell.

Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., reported stable third-quarter earnings as margin compression offset loan growth.

PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh reported higher third-quarter profit on an increase in fee income and loan growth.

KeyCorp in Cleveland reported lower third-quarter earnings as revenue slumped and its net interest margin fell.

Lake City Bank in Warsaw, Ind., is planning to add three Indianapolis branch locations in roughly the next 15 months.

MetaBank in Souix Falls, S.D., has agreed to buy the operations of AFS/IBEX Financial Services, an insurance premium finance company in Dallas.

A judge's ruling that Doral is owed $230 million by the territory's government may not immediately change its status as "significantly undercapitalized."

HSBC's Irene Dorner reflects on her 30-year banking career and offers this parting thought to her industry colleagues: "Do the right thing in all circumstances." She also calls for more emphasis on diversity in the banking industry and offers regulators some advice on achieving positive outcomes in her speech at the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance awards gala, where she accepted a Lifetime Achievement award.

C-suites will remain overwhelmingly male unless women in senior roles make it a priority to "lift up" their younger female colleagues, says Beth Mooney, the Most Powerful Woman in Banking. "The importance of mentoring, coaching and sponsorship cannot be overstated," she said.

Jane Fraser, the British-born head of Citigroup's consumer and commercial bank, shares a lesson she's learned from her 13-year-old son that has helped her adapt to her new role. She also talks about making a scary transition to a job overseeing U.S. mortgages and training yourself to overcome fear and take on "stretch assignments" at work. "You just have to be 'all in' — mind, heart, guts, hours," says Fraser, the No. 1 Woman to Watch, in her speech at the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance awards gala.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta has lined up its next chief financial officer.

BB&T was not the first choice for Bank of Kentucky when it negotiating to sell itself. But when two preferred suitors failed to provide revised draft terms to Bank of Kentucky by an Aug. 11 deadline, it opened a window for BB&T.

Metro Bancorp in Harrisburg, Pa., which has been under pressure from several investors, is taking steps to improve earnings and shareholder returns.

Before regulators require the country's largest banks to take on more burdensome regulations, they need to reconsider the parameters used to assess the threat of systemic risk.

Sunshine Bancorp in Plant City, Fla., has hired a former executive at Susquehanna Bancshares in Lititz, Pa., as its chief executive.