American Banker has opened the application period for a new program that will identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in the banking industry.

First PacTrust Bancorp (BANC) in Irvine, Calif., is delaying the filing of its annual report after switching auditors and seeing several top executives leave in recent months.

LNB Bancorp in Lorain, Ohio, has retired a large chunk of its bailout money by offering its owners common stock.

The Buffalo, N.Y. company has struggled to gain traction from last year's purchase of more than 100 HSBC branches.

With branches becoming more like expensive billboards, banks are searching for lower-cost ways to maintain visibility in existing markets and raise their profiles in newer ones.

First Niagara (FNFG) in Buffalo, N.Y. is looking for a permanent chief executive following the abrupt departure of John Koelmel.

Instead of its just releasing out-of-court agreements on request, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has devoted an area of its website for posting settlement documents that will be updated regularly.

Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Md., said Tuesday that it had opened a branch in Alexandria, Va., marking its sixth branch in the state.

The Federal Reserve Board has taken action against a Midwest banking company.

First Financial Corp. (THFF) of Terre Haute, Ind., is buying seven branches and two drive-up locations in Illinois from Bank of America (BAC).

A unit of SVB Financial Group (SIVB) in Santa Clara, Calif., plans to raise $300 million for a venture capital fund.

BankUnited, the Florida bank led by John Kanas, has hired two of his former colleagues at Capital One — Joe Roberto and Kelly Sheehan — to run its nascent operation in the Big Apple.

HomeStreet (HMST) in Seattle may be nearing an exit from a cease-and-desist order after paying an important debt.

California Bank of Commerce in Lafayette, Calif., has hired a bank consultant as its president and chief executive.

The California business bank focuses on the technology sector, applying lessons learned from the dot-com bust of the 1990s.

Columbia Banking System (COLB) in Tacoma, Wash., and West Coast Bancorp (WCBO) in Lake Oswego, Ore., announced late Monday that shareholders from both companies approved West Coast's planned sale to Columbia.

Community Financial Shares (CFIS) in Glen Ellyn, Ill., is extending its rights offering to boost shareholder participation.

WASHINGTON — The federal bank regulators on Monday proposed several revisions to their guidance for complying with Community Reinvestment Act regulations.

HarborOne Credit Union in Brockton, Mass., is on its way to becoming a mutual savings bank.

Consumer bankers are reluctant to start charging customers new fees for existing products. But Capital One's Jonathan Witter pointed to the flexibility banks offers in pricing business-banking products as an example of how they could generate more fee revenue on the consumer side.