Columbia Banking System in Tacoma, Wash., will sell 10 branches in Washington, Oregon and northern California. The $20 billion-asset Columbia said in a pair of press releases that the sales are tied to securing clearance from the Justice Department to buy Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore. Columbia will sell seven branches in Oregon and Washington to the $2.4 billion-asset FS Bancorp in Mountlake Terrace, Wash. The sale includes about $510 million

New York Community Bancorp in Hicksville, N.Y., has received all the approvals needed to buy Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich. The $63 billion-asset New York Community said in a press release that the Federal Reserve has approved it pending purchase of the $25.4 billion-asset Flagstar. The news comes less than two weeks after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave conditional approval to the $2.6 billion transaction. The

Builtwell Bank in Chattanooga, Tenn., has a new president. Mitch Sanford shared in a LinkedIn post that he had taken on the post at the $1.4 billion-asset unit of First Volunteer Corp. Sanford previously served as an executive vice president and commercial banking executive at Builtwell. Before that, he was president and CEO of First Bank of Dalton and Calhoun, which was sold to First Volunteer. “Looking forward to continue

Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia finally has a date for its annual meeting. The $5.7 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that the meeting will be held on Jan. 26. Shareholders of record on Nov. 29 will be allowed to vote at the meeting. Republic First has delayed the meeting for months because an independent legal counsel has been investigating certain related-party transactions. The company said several weeks ago

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati has formed an independent registered investment adviser. The $206 billion-asset company said in a press release that Fifth Third Wealth Advisors is being led by Eric Housman, who has been at the bank for more than a decade. He previously served as managing director of Fifth Third Private Bank’s MidAtlantic region. The RIA “offers advisers the freedom to operate entrepreneurially and independently,” Kristine Garrett, Fifth

Integrated Financial Holdings in Raleigh, N.C., is close to resolving litigation that it must address before selling to MVB Financial in Fairmont, W.Va. The $3 billion-asset MVB agreed on Aug. 12 to buy the $425 million-asset IFH, the parent of the West Town Bank, for $98 million in stock. The deal will give MVB added heft in areas such as Small Business Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture lending. IFH

TIAA has agreed to sell TIAA Bank to a group of investors. The retirement company said in a press release that it expects to close the sale next year. It didn’t disclose the price to be paid for the $36 billion-asset bank. The sale will allow TIAA to focus on its retirement business and Nuveen, its asset manager. TIAA, which plans to apply for a national trust bank charter, said

U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis is the latest bank to face an investigation from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tied to its administration of unemployment insurance payments on prepaid debit cards. The $601 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is “cooperating fully” with the probe, though it provided no further details. The CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last summer fined Bank of America