CrossFirst Bank in Leawood, Kansas, has opened a new division to serve the oil, gas and energy markets and hired a team of five bankers with experience in this sector.

Ronald R. Reed has resigned as chief executive of Citizens Independent Bancorp in Logan, Ohio, and its bank unit.

Allowing branch workers to come up with handmade signs and offbeat contests can help banks increase both customer and employee engagement, according to consultant Dave Martin.

First South Bancorp in Washington, N.C., has become the latest community bank to buy branches from Bank of America.

Mt. Washington Savings Bank in Cincinnati is planning to convert from a mutual savings and loan association to a company partly owned by public shareholders.

Cardinal Financial in Tysons Corner, Va., has agreed to buy a Virginia branch from Virginia Heritage Bank.

The company is opening high-tech loan production offices and using data analytics to match customers with products. But like other banks seeking to modernize, Seacoast is trying to balance short-term needs with costly long-term investments.

Banks with large mortgage operations are struggling with lower profit margins, detrimental fair-value accounting rules and new regulations that add cost. The market is discounting their stocks as a result, but many of these banks say the blanket assessment is unfair.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has charged Evans Bancorp in Hamburg, N.Y., with deliberately failing to provide mortgages in minority neighborhoods in Buffalo.

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City added banking veteran John Erickson to its board.

Pacific Premier in Irvine, Calif., has raised approximately $59 million through a private placement.

The Bank of Napa has established a relief fund for victims of the recent California earthquake, which was centered in the bank's local area.

Prudential Bancorp in Philadelphia has agreed to add a director recommended by activist investor Seidman Group.

As consolidation heats up, bankers are pushing back against lawsuits challenging a deal's merits. Experts say the law firms pursuing litigation are motivated by fees and often withdraw when bank lawyers use legal maneuvers to lengthen the process.

A Massachusetts mutual's failure to gain depositor approval for a conversion suggests a way for small towns to push back against the loss of their local banks, according to lawyer Kevin Handly.

Regulatory delays have forced ViewPoint Financial in Plano, Texas, and LegacyTexas Group in Plano to push back the closing date for their planned merger a second time.

Great Western Bancorp in Sioux Falls, S.D., has filed documents for an initial public offering.

Unity Bancorp in Clinton, N.J., raised $6.3 million from a rights offering.

Following a prolonged stretch of modest loan growth, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Quarterly Banking Profile showed loan balances shooting to a level not seen since 2007.

A judge had ordered Joseph Stilwell to appear in court and respond to a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission tied to a securities fraud investigation.