Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc. of Madison has struck its first acquisition deal in six years, announcing Thursday that it has agreed to buy S&C Banco Inc. of New Richmond.

A new type of correspondent bank is set to open in Charlotte this fall.

John R. Koelmel has had a rocky seven months as the president and chief executive officer of First Niagara Financial Group Inc.

Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids said Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings fell 57% from a year earlier, to $2.2 million.

MIDWEST

A month after warning of its exposure to an apparent real estate scheme, United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga., is now saying that its loan losses will be higher than expected.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Paducah, Ky., was a destination for jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington; the thriving port city at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio rivers was an important stop on the "Chitlin' Circuit," a safe set of performance venues for African-Americans.

Pax Holdings Inc. has called off its deal to buy the $39 million-asset Surety Bank in Fort Worth, according to a Securities Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday by the bank's parent company.

State National Bank in Fort Worth is asking a court to prohibit a rival from soliciting its customers in western Texas.

It is a good time to be a bank in Bozeman, Mont.

The $623 million-asset WGNB Corp. of Carrollton, Ga., said Monday that its second-quarter earnings rose 13% from the same quarter last year, to $2.3 million, on the strength of double-digit loan and deposit growth.

Independent Bank Corp. in Ionia, Mich., announced Monday that it would report a loan-loss provision of $13 million to $16 million for the second quarter.

Shinhan Financial Group, Korea's second-largest banking company, wants to bulk up in the United States through acquisitions, but it is not necessarily targeting Korean-American banks.

Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. in Lititz, Pa., said Monday that it would take an $11.8 million second-quarter charge to restructure its investment portfolio.

Shinhan Financial Group, Korea's second-largest banking company, wants to bulk up in the United States through acquisitions, but it is not necessarily targeting Korean-American banks.

First National of Nebraska Inc. has agreed to acquire the $34 million-asset Mills County Bank of Glenwood, Iowa, the Omaha World-Herald reported Friday.

A North Carolina bank discriminated against borrowers based on their marital status, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

A major natural gas find in central Arkansas promises to lift the economy of a largely rural area, and community banks are eager to set up shop there.

Omni Financial Services in Atlanta has purchased a Texas charter and is set to turn a Dallas loan production office into a full-service branch.

As the new president and chief executive officer of Independence Federal Savings Bank in Washington, John A. Hall is in for a challenge.