Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (KFFB) is seeking to waive its right to receive a dividend despite lingering uncertainty as to whether regulators will allow mutual holding companies to make that move.

About 6,000 U.S. banks, including those as small as $500 million in assets, are required to implement the "standardized" approach in Basel III. Ernst & Young's Peter Davis discusses the extent of the changes they face.

The Treasury Department recouped $62.4 million in its latest auction of the securities it owns from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but it was unable to find a buyer for shares Guaranty Federal Bancshares in Springfield, Mo.

Federal agencies intervened in the private student-loan market during the financial crisis and could play a future role, said Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's student-loan ombudsman.

The FDIC is appealing a ruling that barred it from pursuing simple negligence claims against officers and directors of a failed bank. If the agency loses, it could have a difficult time replenishing the Deposit Insurance Fund.

The Regulation Room, run by Cornell University, allows the public another opportunity to weigh in about Consumer Financial Protection Bureau policies.

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The Federal Reserve Board has terminated a written agreement with Valley Financial that required the Roanoke, Va., company to serve as a source of strength for its bank.

Delaware County Bank & Trust in Lewis Center, Ohio, is the latest bank to add private banking in an effort to court more high-net-worth customers.

First California Financial Group faces investor pressure to sell and an unsolicited bid from PacWest Bancorp. Yet it danced around its vulnerable M&A status in a proxy filing on its deal to buy Premier Service Bank.

Mutual holding companies appear to be fleeing the format and converting to stock companies, but Northeast Community CEO Kenneth Martinek remains a staunch supporter of the model. That may be partly because he's being sued by an activist investor who is pushing him to convert Northeast to a stock company from an MHC.

Sophia Haliotis will be a senior vice president for Popular Community, the U.S. unit of the $36.3 billion-asset Popular in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and guide its expansion of commercial banking in the New York City region.

The CEO of First PacTrust will now share his title with an investor and director, who the bank hired to oversee nonbank deals.

BB&T (BBT) will lay off as many as 365 employees in connection with its acquisition of BankAtlantic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., according to a filing with the state government.

Pulaski Financial (PULB) in St. Louis has repurchased almost a quarter of the preferred stock it had issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program and that was subsequently sold to private investors in an auction.

The number of homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth fell by about 400,000 in the second quarter as prices rose and properties were lost to foreclosure, Zillow said.

The banking SuperPAC is eyeing seven candidates — four Republicans and three Democrats — as it decides what two races to support in late September or early October. Following is the short list of who is under consideration.

Malvern Federal Bancorp (MLVF) in Paoli, Pa., will raise up to roughly $36.4 million by converting to a 100% stock-owned company from a mutual holding company.

Investor and director Steven Sugarman will now share CEO duties with Gregory Mitchell at First PacTrust of Irvine, Calif. The company announced a bank deal Wednesday, and Sugarman is expected to take lead on nonbank deals.

Industry observers are advising more community banks with trust-preferred securities to raise capital now before Basel III puts them at odds with regulators.