Farmers creates insurance brokerage

Farmers creates insurance brokerage

canfield

Farmers National Bank has expanded its financial services into the insurance market. Farmers National Insurance, a subsidiary of the bank, will act as an insurance broker, managing contact with customers while purchasing coverage from outside providers.

Insurance services will include homeowners and renters insurance, life insurance policies, auto insurance, pet insurance and health and dental plans.

F.N.B. subsidiary closes finance deal

pittsburgh

F.N.B. Capital Corp., a merchant banking subsidiary of F.N.B. Corp., has closed a $6.5 million mezzanine-financing deal with Ashton Potter Security Printing, a high-security printing company based in Buffalo, N.Y. The printing company is a primary supplier of U.S. postage stamps. F.N.B. Capital Corp.’s investment, a combination of debt and equity financing, will be used to refinance Ashton Potter’s balance sheet and allow the printing company to continue its expansion into brand-identity protection.

Airlines add seats to May schedules

Pittsburgh

Seven airlines have shown an increase in available plane tickets to and from Pittsburgh International Airport, according to an Allegheny County Airport Authority statement released Friday. Delta Airlines, AirTran, JetBlue, United Airlines, American Airlines, U.S. Airways and Air Canada have added seats to their May schedules at the airport. The number of seats AirTran is offering is up 52.8 percent from last year. The increase could indicate an increased demand for air travel, Bradley Penrod, executive director and chief executive of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said in a statement.

Judge chosen for Toyota lawsuits

MIAMI

A federal judge in Southern California was chosen Friday to preside over more than 200 lawsuits filed against Toyota in the aftermath of the automaker’s sudden-acceleration problems, which potentially could mushroom into one of the nation’s biggest product liability cases.

A judicial panel consolidated the ever-growing list of cases before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna, 65, a 2003 appointee of former President George W. Bush. Selna’s court is in Orange County, Calif., near Los Angeles.

Attorneys estimate that if Toyota were to settle the cases for even a modest payout to affected motorists, it could cost the company at least $3 billion.

SC bank fails

WASHINGTON

Regulators on Friday shut down a bank in South Carolina, marking 42 bank failures in the U.S. so far this year amid mounting loan defaults.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over Beach First National Bank, based in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with $585.1 million in assets and $516 million in deposits. Bank of North Carolina, based in Thomasville, N.C., agreed to assume the assets and deposits of the failed bank.

From staff/wire reports