Flush with capital from its $95 million public offering last year, Legacy Bancorp Inc. in Pittsfield, Mass., is eyeing its first-ever retail expansion into neighboring states.

AUSTIN - Consolidation in Fort Worth has paved the way for Marquette Financial Cos.' return to traditional banking there.

Sandy Spring Bancorp of Olney, Md., said it would acquire the $145 million-asset CN Bancorp Inc. in Glen Burnie for $44.1 million in cash and stock.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said it was assessing Foster Bank of Chicago a $2 million civil money penalty for Bank Secrecy Act compliance problems.

In most states, debtors facing garnishment of their checking accounts must prove they have funds - such as Social Security or welfare checks - that are exempt from collection.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Lockport, N.Y., is insisting that its recent management shake-up is not a sign that it is on the verge of a sale, but talk of one persists.

Union National Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., is brewing up an experiment in retail banking.

Move over Elektra.

Oriental Financial Group Inc. announced a balance sheet repositioning Monday that will affect fourth-quarter earnings.

When Taylor Capital Group Inc. announced a management shuffle last month, it appeared to be demoting its longtime chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey W. Taylor.

Banking trade groups are aiming to use a Government Accountability Office report to bolster their case before Congress that the Community Reinvestment Act should be applied to credit unions.

The board of directors at First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Lockport, N.Y., said late Friday it had replaced Paul J. Kolkmeyer as its president and chief executive officer, because of "differences in management style."

Lakeland Bancorp Inc. in Oak Ridge, N.J., said Friday that it is restructuring its balance sheet and writing off a canceled public stock offering. Both moves will require charges to fourth-quarter earnings.

Five years after it left Texas, Marquette Financial Cos. in Minneapolis has moved to reenter the state, with a deal for a Corpus Christi bank charter.

After helping to build a bank that sold last year for one of the highest price-to-book multiples in Texas history, Kenny and Kristi Koncaba are not worried about making ends meet.

MIDWEST

Meta Financial Group Inc. of Storm Lake, Iowa, announced that $3.9 million of loans to a road paving company probably will not be repaid.

Eagle Mountain, Utah, was incorporated 10 years ago and already has had nine mayors. Many resigned because they found the job too complicated, and the most recent mayor quit just before being indicted for allegedly stealing city funds.

Congress typically does not include Farm Credit Administration issues in agriculture policy, but bankers and Farm Credit lenders - pushing vastly different agendas - are asking lawmakers to do so when they begin debating a farm bill next year.

PrivateBancorp Inc. in Chicago announced Wednesday that it would take an after-tax charge of $800,000 this quarter to cover losses related to theft by an employee.