The bank wants to make acquisitions in central Florida, but CEO Michael Micallef keeps hitting snags with loan books, cultural fit and deal structure.

Allegiance Bancshares has agreed to buy the $220 million-asset Independence Bank. Both are in Houston.

Republic First Bancorp (FRBK) will allow customers to access funds at Allpoint Network ATMs without paying service fees.

BankFinancial (BFIN) in Burr Ridge, Ill., reported a decrease in quarterly profit because of lower net interest income.

Quarterly earnings at Meta Financial Group (CASH) in Sioux Falls, S.D., came in above analysts' estimates due to growth in revenue from loans and the company's payments system.

Baylake (BYLK) in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has agreed to sell $26 million in deposits from two branches to 1st National Bank of Berlin in Wisconsin.

With the market starting to value banks on their earnings rather than their book values, buyers are looking for deals that will prop up their bottom lines over the long term and are willing to pay more.

The Federal Reserve Board's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey said credit conditions are improving for commercial and industrial loans but standards remain tight on mortgages and consumer debt.

Blue Hills Bank in Boston is buying a New England franchise from Sovereign Bank.

Noninterest expenses remain persistently high at community banks as a need to pursue revenue undermines efforts to aggressively make cuts.

Patapsco Bancorp (PATD) in Baltimore has appointed Phil Phillips its new chief executive after recording a quarterly loss.

Suffolk Bancorp (SUBK) in Riverhead, N.Y., will record a pretax gain of nearly $4 million in the third quarter after selling shares in Visa.

Hanmi Financial (HAFC) in Los Angeles has hired Bonita Lee, a recently departed executive from BBCN Bancorp (BBCN), as its chief operating officer.

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Heritage Oaks Bancorp (HEOP) in Paso Robles, Calif., has agreed to repurchase the stock warrants it issued through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

WASHINGTON — Regulators seized a $265 million-asset bank based in Fort Myers, Fla., late Friday and sold its operations in a deal protecting all of the failed bank's depositors.

Unlike their bigger competitors, smaller banks are resisting the temptation to pare staff or close mortgage production offices because they still see an opportunity to nibble away at large banks' market share.

The Treasury Department plans to sell shares in five community banks for a discount of approximately 60%.