Does scale matter to a community bank? What does the disappearance of black-owned banks mean to the communities they served? What impact has regulation had on banking? Those questions were among the many addressed by researchers at the recent community banking conference in St. Louis hosted by the Federal Reserve and Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Ameris Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., reported a double-digit increase in profits thanks to an acquisition, organic loan growth and other factors.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., rode strong gains in both interest and fee income to a record profit in the third quarter.

Oconee Financial in Watkinsville, Ga., has named a former Atlanta-area banker its new chief executive.

The California company will report a quarterly loss after credit issues surfaced in its technology lending division. Opus had expressed an interest earlier this year to expand the business after making a key hire.

The demographics of our country are changing. If businesses aren’t figuring out a way to change, too, they risk being left behind.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., said Monday that it expects to report a third-quarter loss of 5 cents a share, reflecting $38.8 million in chargeoffs tied to eight loans in its technology, commercial and specialty lending divisions.

Northwest Bancshares in Warren, Pa., has agreed to buy Winans Insurance & Employee Benefits in Warren.

WSFS Financial in Wilmington, Del., has bought the assets of West Capital Management in Philadelphia.

Dorothy Savarese, the head of Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank in Massachusetts, seeks a financial system where the rules encourage community banks and big banks to do the things that they are best at.

Profit at Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach in California improved in the third quarter, due to loan growth and increased securities income.

BancorpSouth has extended the deadline to complete two acquisitions until the end of 2017 as it seeks to resolve a recent CRA downgrade.

First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has agreed to buy two banks in Alabama and Florida and it announced plans for a capital-raise to fund the deals.

Community banks need profit and diversification opportunities, while marketplace lenders may find mergers to be the easiest route into the banking system.

Warren's voice is powerful in criticizing big banks, but she could play a more active role in providing relief to community banks to help boost job creation.

California Bank of Commerce in Lafayette has hired a veteran credit administrator to help expand its small-business lending.

A nearly double-digit increase in net interest income helped third-quarter profit increase by 12.9% at VSB Bancorp in New York.

West Town Bancorp in Illinois has revved up its government-backed lending to small businesses, making it a good example of how community banks can outhustle big lenders in the quest for new sources of fee income.

As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to experiment with upfront risk-sharing deals, some small mortgage lenders fear they will be left out of the action.

Remember how last year's shutdown of the Small Business Administration's flagship loan-guarantee program prompted Congress to provide more funding? SBA made every penny count in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, backing 64,073 loans for a record $24.1 billion — a 2% increase.