A popular game among bankers and analysts in the merger-happy Southeast is guessing which community bank will be the next to sell, and one name that comes up repeatedly is First Charter Corp. in Charlotte.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. has cut its 2004 earnings estimate in half because it has decided to prepay $195 million of Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings.

D. Ben Berry says his company's regulatory obligations are getting so heavy that it is considering having customers absorb some of the expense.

WASHINGTON - House Republicans and the Small Business Administration are floating a compromise reauthorization bill that would eliminate once and for all the congressional credit subsidy for the agency's flagship 7(a) program.

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. will continue expanding outside its core Wisconsin market next year by building branches rather than pursuing bank deals, according to Dennis J. Kuester, its president and chief executive.

Independence Federal Savings Bank in Washington said Thursday that it lost $1.24 million in the third quarter and $2.5 million in the first nine months of the year.

MIDWEST

Argentine police are investigating three bomb explosions at branches of Citigroup Inc. and Grupo Financiero Galicia SA in Buenos Aires that killed one person.

Alabama National Bancorp, whose vice chairman has just resigned, said five employees are also resigning from the investment subsidiary he led and are joining a competitor.

ITLA Capital Corp. of La Jolla, Calif., is an unconventional lender in that it finances films, fast-food restaurants, and "fixer-upper" strip malls.

Pennsylvania remains one of the busiest states for bank mergers and acquisitions, but unlike in other hotbeds such as Florida and California, the deals are mostly in-market.

I have served on boards of directors three times, and each time my service ended abruptly. Once it was because I quit. Once it was because I spoke up. Once it was because I should have.

Capitol Federal Financial in Topeka, Kan., said a prepayment penalty it incurred for refinancing $2.4 billion in Federal Home Loan Bank advances wiped out profits in its fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

Harleysville National Corp. in Pennsylvania, said Monday that Walter E. Daller, 65, its longtime president and chief executive officer, plans to retire from those posts March 31 but remain chairman.

After barely making any money in four years, Somerset Hills Bancorp had its work cut out trying to win over new investors when it needed fresh capital in fall 2002.

With longtime Atlanta banker Gordon Teel at the helm, Georgian Bank has undergone immense changes.

The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it had approved an application by First National Bank Group Inc. of Edinburg, Tex., to obtain up to 14.99% of the voting shares of Alamo Corp. of Texas.

Umpqua Holdings Corp. is open to buying Washington banks in the 175-mile stretch from Portland, Ore., its hometown, to the Seattle area, where it will plant the flag with a first branch early next year.

NorCrown Bank in New Jersey was undoubtedly affected by its owner's legal woes, but its buyer insists it is getting a solid company with 15 branches in some of the country's most desirable markets.