To avoid incurring a customer's wrath or a lawsuit, banks should make sure new fees carry a clear value exchange, offer something new (ahem, mobile) and are easily avoided. Resist any temptation to set fee traps.

The $534 million-asset company said Wednesday that it sold about 203,000 shares of common stock and nearly 400,000 shares of non-voting common stock at $16.80 each to Castle Creek Capital Partners.

The East Coast oil boom and the rise in hydraulic fracturing are creating headaches for banks that lend to local homeowners, who risk violating government mortgage standards when they sell their property's energy rights to oil and gas companies. American Banker editors discuss the foreclosure and even environmental problems that fracking can create for lenders, and how some banks are coping.

Horizon Bancorp (HBNC) in Michigan City, Ind., has agreed to buy SCB Bancorp (SCB) in East Lansing, Mich.

A former executive at One Bank & Trust in Little Rock, Ark., has been charged with stealing nearly $75,000 from his employer to pay off credit card bills.

The $782 million-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it halved its stake in Lender Service Provider, to 25%, during the third quarter after adding two members to the processing firm.

Their approaches differ, but one thing many bankers agree on is that growth depends largely on how well they cross-sell wealth management products to borrowers and depositors.

Capital Bank Financial (CBF) in Coral Gables, Fla., will revise certain financial statements in its 2012 annual report to reflect a better-than-expected balance sheet tied to a bank it bought.

National Bank Holdings (NBHC) in Greenwood Village, Colo., has received regulatory approval for its bank to pay a $313 million dividend to the holding company.

Community Financial (TCFC) in Waldorf, Md., has named William Pasenelli, its president and chief financial officer, as its next chief executive.

Community banks are stepping up their mobile payments offerings — and a growing number say they're doing it more to please customers rather than for the direct profits.

Banks, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are revisiting mortgage lending policies to address fracking concerns. Some banks will no longer finance homes where an oil rig sits, and Freddie Mac says it can force the entire outstanding balance to be paid if an oil lease is signed.

Banks put the brakes on small-business lending in October as the government shutdown shuttered the Small Business Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.

Great Southern Bancorp (GSBC) in Springfield, Mo., bought a loan portfolio from an unnamed seller.

Choice Financial Holdings in Grafton, N.D., has agreed to buy Great Plains National Bank in Belfield, N.D.

The company lost money in the third quarter as it aggressively looked to build assets. At least one investor urged management to take a break from acquisitions during a quarterly call to discuss results.

Pulaski Financial (PULB) in St. Louis said Monday that it had discovered a fraud scheme by a commercial borrower that wiped out the profit for its latest quarter and nearly a third of its annual profit.

Baylake Corp. (BYLK) in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has agreed to buy a branch from Community Bank & Trust in Sheboygan, Wis.

Saehan Bancorp (SAEB) shareholders have more time to decide on how they get paid in the buyout by Los Angeles rival Wilshire Bancorp (WIBC).