First Merchants Corp. in Muncie, Ind., has agreed to buy Ameriana Bancorp in New Castle, Ind.

Citizens Community Bank in South Hill, Va., has redeemed about 75% of its outstanding preferred stock in the Small Business Lending Fund.

Juniata Valley Financial in Mifflintown, Pa., has agreed to buy FNBPA Bancorp in Port Allegany, Pa.

Porter Bancorp in of Louisville, Ky., has adopted a plan to preserve the value of its deferred tax benefits, designed to allow the company to continue the use of net operating loss carryforwards.

MidSouth Bancorp in Lafayette, La., has promoted the son of Chief Executive Rusty Cloutier to president of MidSouth Bank.

After scaling back its U.S. operations, Popular Inc. plans to focus on niche commercial lending markets, including financing for elder care and assisted living facilities.

First Bancorp in Southern Pines, N.C., has redeemed about half of its shares in the Small Business Lending Fund.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including a proposal to regulate banks based on their activities rather than size and a plea for members of Congress to take action to help community banks.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

Banks have faced increased scrutiny of their treatment of customers since the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and BB&T and others have proven that the process can be managed. Old fights with regulators can be put in the past if banks work hard at it.

MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City, Iowa has raised $8.4 million in a private placement of its common stock.

Atlantic Coast Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., has taken several steps to restructure its debt holdings, including prepaying $60 million in advances with the Federal Home Loan Bank and $56.3 million of securities sold under separate repurchase agreements.

First Mariner Bank in Baltimore has been released from a six-year-old enforcement action, after the bank filed for bankruptcy last year and was acquired by a group of Baltimore investors.

If approved, Core Commercial Bank would be just the third new bank to open in the U.S. since the financial crisis.

nnovation consultant Larry Keeley says banks are about to undergo some dramatic changes that will in turn change how people think of them. Here's how he sees it playing out.

In their ongoing quest to undo the most burdensome provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, bankers invite lawmakers to spend a day in their branches.

We gauge what U.S. consumers think of 32 of the largest banks in our annual Survey of Bank Reputations with the Reputation Institute. Check out our special report to learn which banks achieved an 'excellent' reputation with customers for the first time since the survey began, get a case study of the 2015 reputation leader, Regions Financial, and read a Q&A for insight into how Huntington Bancshares is gaining esteem among both customers and noncustomers.

Rather than viewing stress tests only as a burden, bank executives are recasting them as opportunities to gain valuable insight into their loan portfolios.

The outspoken Jamie Dimon chides JPMorgan Chase's shareholders after proxy advisers question his power and pay, U.S. Bancorp's Richard Davis compares banks to pimply teens, and more quotes on hot topics from across the banking industry.

Enterprise risk management is an area banks are trying to master, and the appointment of a chief risk officer to oversee this effort has become common, even among community banks. We asked CROs and other experts for their perspectives on this evolving role, the skills needed to do the job well and their biggest worries.