Iberiabank is excited to add equipment finance and an SBA lending platform when it buys Old Florida Bancshares. The deal also gives the Louisiana company its first branches in Orlando.

Profits rose at Bridge Bancorp in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on strong loan growth. The $2.2 billion-asset reported net income of $4.9 million in the third quarter, up 56% from a year earlier.

Independent Bank in Ionia, Mich., reported lower quarterly earnings due to margin pressure and a significantly higher tax expense.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., missed third-quarter earnings estimates, largely due to a steep increase in its loan loss provision.

Lakeland Financial in Warsaw, Ind., rode double-digit loan growth and credit-quality improvements to an 18% increase in profits.

Community banks have been steadily increasing their dealing in auto finance, an area with great potential and significant risk for unexperienced lenders.

Triumph Bancorp in Dallas is looking to raise $123 million through an initial public offering.

Hudson Valley Holding Corp. (HVB), a New York City-area lender with about $3.2 billion in assets, is exploring a sale, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Iberiabank in Lafayette, La., has agreed to acquire Old Florida Bancshares in Orlando.

Citizens Financial Group, releasing results for the first time since its initial public offering, said third-quarter profit rose 31% as the bank set aside less money for bad loans. The firm declared a 10-cent quarterly dividend.

These companies, featured on American Banker's Best Banks to Work For list, go beyond salaries and health benefits to make their employees feel valued at the office.

Avenue Bank's Ron Samuels says sports teach young people to work toward goals and manage their emotions — traits he likes to see in employees.

Some banks are coming up with creative strategies for dealing with the rising cost of health care, from on-site clinics to full-time wellness coordinators. They also are softening the blow of high-deductible plans by phasing them in and contributing to employees' Health Savings Accounts.

The challenge is part of 1st National's wellness program, says Jenny Johnson, the bank's human resources leader. Employees compete in teams of four to six people, who are weighed in November and again in January.

The Best Banks to Work For study is a collaboration between American Banker and the Best Companies Group, which conducts extensive employee surveys and reviews employer reports on benefits and policies.

Besides trying to figure out how to keep health insurance affordable, bankers are wrestling with a slew of other challenges, including recruitment, leadership development and employee engagement.

Our second annual ranking of the banks that win high marks from employees for providing a positive work environment, top-notch benefits and ample career-advancement opportunities. (The perks – like free lattes and subsidized gym memberships – are nice, too.)

Keeping down health care expenses by encouraging employees to live healthier lifestyles is a goal for many companies these days. Here are some of the interesting strategies that the Best Banks to Work For are using – from exercise bonuses to walking meetings.

Regulators on Friday closed The National Republic Bank of Chicago, the 16th institution to fail this year.

The company's $800 million goodwill impairment charge may reflect macroeconomic factors, but also likely resulted from a purchase of HSBC branches two years ago. Other banks are unlikely to face the exact same issues, observers said.