A lawsuit has been filed against Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (PEBK) alleging that the Newton company failed to operate its overdraft program in line with its customer account agreement.

Deal for Piraeus' Marathon Banking unit in U.S. satisfies Investors' M&A ambitions in New York for now, CEO Kevin Cummings says.

Avidbank in Palo Alto, Calif., will open a loan production office in downtown San Jose next week.

With Congress nearing a vote on a new Farm Bill that will set agricultural policy for the next five years, the banking industry is urging lawmakers to resist efforts to weaken the federal crop insurance program.

Cardinal Bankshares in Floyd, Va., is developing a comprehensive plan just weeks after a proxy battle brought in three new directors and led to the ouster of its chief executive.

Maybe George Bailey should've jumped — and made his savings and loan a commercial bank. If he had, he'd have been much better prepared for the Fed's decision to raise certain capital requirements, a move some are calling the death knell for the classic thrift business model: lend to home buyers like crazy.

As with housing, different bank markets across the country have crashed and recovered at different speeds. Measured by institutions with high Texas ratios, stress has tapered quickly in states like Washington and California, but remains elevated in Georgia, Illinois and Florida.

Private Bank of Buckhead in Atlanta has been given the green light to open its second branch.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. As excerpted from the Comments sections of AmericanBanker.com articles.

A Dallas-area investment group has applied to become a bank holding company so it could acquire a small bank outside of Austin.

Community bank Investors Bancorp Inc. agreed to acquire Piraeus Bank S.A.'s Marathon Banking Corp. unit for $135 million in cash, a move that doubles its presence in New York.

More than a year following its chief executive's departure, Pacific Commerce Bank in Los Angeles has found someone to take the helm.

HomeStreet (HMST) of Seattle has extended a housing assistance program to the Spokane, Wash., area.

More banks may decide to sell if they conclude Congress will not renew the capital gains tax cut, Deloitte's Sharon Weinstein says.

A planned merger between two southern California banks has yet to close a year after the deal was announced because regulators have yet to approve it.

The more than $500 million that investors pumped into banks in the Tar Heel State has turned marginal players into consolidators, provided a way to absorb failures and instilled new discipline.

A half billion dollars in PE funding has breathed life into North Carolina banking, raising questions about whether community bankers nationwide should be teaming up with Mitt Romney's old industry.

The Treasury Department has successfully sold off its shares in seven more community banks as part of its ongoing effort to wind down the four-year-old Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Crestmark Bancorp of Troy, Mich., has purchased the working capital loan portfolio from First Citizens Bank and has entered into partnership with the Raleigh, N.C., company.

About 35 million Americans are considered underbanked. According to a Javelin study, this group has higher income and potential interest in traditional banking than you might think.