Flagstar, the $14.3 billion-asset company's board Tuesday approved a reverse split of outstanding shares that will give holders of Flagstar common stock prior to Oct. 24 one share for every 10 they own.

Umpqua Bank will open its first retail branch in San Jose early next year as part of its continued expansion in the Bay Area.

Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut has named William C. Calderara its president and chief executive.

First Bancorp in Troy, N.C., has agreed to buy a branch from Four Oaks Fincorp in Rockingham and will also acquire $64 million in deposits and $22 million in loans associated with a branch in Southern Pines.

MidSouth Bancorp (MSL) in Lafayette, La., is expanding northward with an agreement to buy PSB Financial in Many, La., for $39 million.

Taylor Capital (TAYC) will take a $3.7 million charge for the third quarter after its bank decided to extinguish some of its outstanding debt.

West Coast Bancorp's pending $506 million sale to Columbia Banking System could serve as a green light for private equity firms itching to cash out of post-crisis bank investments.

Banks can retain loyalty while changing their checking account fee structures by personalizing their service practices, continually improving upon the customer's experience and leveraging data generated by their call centers.

While criticizing big bank bailouts, the former FDIC chairman highlights instances where small firms — including United Commercial Bank and ShoreBank — were closed even with alternatives available.

Flagstar Bancorp (FBC) in Troy, Mich. must stand trial over charges it breached contracts for financial guaranty insurance on roughly $1 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities it issued during the run-up to the financial crisis.

WASHINGTON — Zions Bancorp., the largest bank remaining in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, repaid the last of its government funds to exit the program Wednesday, the Treasury Department announced.

An increase in capital requirements may reduce earnings, minimize returns and contribute to a stagnant environment where loan production is at a minimum and bank acquisitions are very few.

Aspiring consolidators are weighing the advantages of attracting lending teams instead of making outright acquisitions.

Fidelity Bancorp, Western Liberty and Savannah Bancorp artfully structured deals to sell themselves, and are rushing to complete them, in case Congress raises capital gains taxes next year.

Columbia Banking System has agreed to buy West Coast Bancorp. The acquisition, valued at about $506 million, will create a community bank in the Pacific Northwest with more than $7 billion in assets.

Metro Bank in Harrisburg, Pa., will pay $1.5 million to settle claims that it violated the Bank Secrecy Act.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., has adopted a so-called "tax preservation plan," which is designed to protect a company's deferred tax assets during a lengthy period of operating losses.

The Norfolk, Va., company announced on Monday that Charles M. Johnston, a former chief financial officer at Eastern Bank in Boston, had joined its board.

The SEC has charged three former executives of TierOne, a failed bank in Nebraska, with misleading investors about the extent of the bank's losses during the financial crisis.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced a new system Tuesday for classifying violations of consumer-protection rules that the agency spots during exams.