Four Oaks Fincorp in Four Oaks, N.C., has raised $24 million through a rights offering.

Stephen E. Dowd, the chief financial officer of CMS Bancorp in White Plains, N.Y., has died. The $273 million-asset company announced Dowd’s “unexpected passing” in a press release on Friday.

An investor has filed a lawsuit to block the merger deal between the two First Citizens banks in the Carolinas, which are controlled by the Holding family. The case could turn on whether the directors on the special committees that reviewed the deal were truly independent of the Holdings.

The Providence, R.I., company is set to be spun off from its foreign parent, and executives are embracing the opportunity to simplify their products, expand lending and overhaul their customer experience.

Costs associated with its recent acquisition pushed Cascade Bancorp, in Bend, Ore., into the red in the second quarter.

Sun Bancorp in Mount Laurel, N.J., plans to raise approximately $20 million to fund its recent restructuring.

Doral Financial, the Puerto Rico bank that hasn't posted an annual profit for almost a decade, fell as much as 4.7% after disclosing it received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp in Philadelphia, which dates back to 1853, is the latest old-school mutual thrift to announce plans for a second-step conversion to a fully public stockholder company.

C1 Financial, a $1.4 billion-asset company in St. Petersburg, Fla., raised $45 million today from its initial public offering.

Clayton Deutsch has spent the last several years streamlining Boston Private's past acquisitions in an effort to improve the company's profitability. With most of the cuts in place, the company is now eyeing acquisitions like the one it announced last month for Banyan Partners, a Florida investment adviser.

Nearly six months after some CertusBank investors demanded a total management overhaul, the Greenville, S.C., company elected six new board members at an annual meeting last week. Yet investors remain very concerned about the company's ongoing losses and capital levels, new Chairman John Poelker says.

The time spent preparing these reports has increased exponentially over the years, leaving bankers with less and less time to help customers, and communities, prosper. Allowing highly rated banks to file short-form call reports could significantly ease that burden, writes the ICBA's Camden Fine.

CenterState Banks in Davenport, Fla., plans to close additional branches from a recent acquisition.

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., has appointed Blake Coules chief risk officer.

Banks can use advanced database marketing techniques to identify current customers who may be shopping for a mortgage, writes Garth Graham.

Customers Bank in Wyomissing, Pa., has announced three new appointments to executive positions, including one to the newly created role of Small Business Administration national director.

Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., is expanding its commercial banking operations to lend to more midsize companies in more parts of the country.

Investment banker Jason R. Hach has joined Sandler O’Neill following four years at its archrival Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Membership in credit unions has hit 100 million for the first time, one of their top trade groups said. The numbers are subject to challenge, but banks still have plenty to fear from their nemeses. Then again, credit unions are uneasy about the future, too.

The Bank of Edwardsville in Illinois has begun looking for a new chief executive, after its current CEO, Thomas Holloway, said he would retire next spring.