PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Service CU, a fast-growing $1.8 billion defense credit union, is preparing a proposal to build a 100,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in the city's recently adopted “Gateway District.”

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa – The North Liberty City Council on Tuesday night voted to approve the purchase and transfer of land for a new University of Iowa Community CU office building, a 100,000-square-foot structure projected to cost $20 million to build.

Nearly two years after hiring CEO Paul Perrault, known for his acquisitiveness, the capital-heavy Brookline announced Wednesday that it would buy another Massachusetts company, First Ipswich Bancorp, for $19.7 million.

PrivateBancorp Inc. in Chicago returned to the black in the third quarter. The $12.5 billion-asset company reported Tuesday that it earned $4.5 million, compared with a loss of $818,000 in the second quarter and a loss of $31.2 million a year earlier.

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. – Scott CU said it plans to break ground early next year on a $12 million, three-story, 51,000-square-foot headquarters in nearby Edwardsville.

Ameris Bank is one of the few homegrown banks in Georgia to have bid successfully on multiple failed banks. That's especially notable given that Ameris, which on Friday made its fourth failed-bank purchase in the past year, has had eight consecutive quarters of net losses largely owing to credit deterioration in real estate-related loans.

Nara Bancorp Inc. of Los Angeles swung to a $4 million profit in the third quarter, a 37% improvement from a year earlier, after selling a pool of problem loans.

After a brief return to profitability in late 2009, Whitney Holding Corp. in New Orleans has reported another losing quarter.

S&T Bancorp Inc. in Indiana, Pa., said Monday that its third-quarter earnings rose 41% year over year, to $10.9 million, on an increase in noninterest income.

Bank of Hawaii Corp. in Honolulu said Monday that its third-quarter earnings rose 20% from a year earlier, to $44.1 million, as a reduction in credit costs and an increase in mortgage banking revenue offset lower interest income.

Chemical Financial Corp. in Midland, Mich., on Monday reported that its third-quarter profit rose 255% from a year earlier, to $8.9 million, as credit costs declined and it began recognizing the benefits of a recent acquisition.

Eagle Bancorp has increased the size of its banking unit, EagleBank, by 33% in the past year — and logged seven consecutive quarters of record profits, including this past quarter.

Community Bank System Inc. of DeWitt, N.Y., which has been quiet in mergers and acquisitions the past few years, has reverted to form with its most expensive deal to date.

The Federal Trade Commission told the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) imposes requirements on Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) - which include the three major credit bureaus - and on employers that use the information “to ensure that sensitive consumer report information is used with fairness, impartiality and respect for consumers’ privacy.”

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Golden Plains CU last week broke ground on a 50,000-square-foot corporate headquarters.

Seven banks failed Friday, bringing the total number of failures this year to within one of the number of failures in all of 2009. So far 139 banks have failed in 2010. Friday's failures are expected to cost the deposit insurance fund a collective $478 million.

West Coast Bancorp in Lake Oswego, Ore., reported net income Friday of $6.1 million in the third quarter, making it the company's first profitable quarter in more than two years.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. in Kalispell, Mont., said it earned $9.4 million in the third quarter, compared with a $1.5 million loss a year earlier, as its loan-loss provision declined and noninterest income grew.

Fidelity Southern Corp. in Atlanta has reported third-quarter earnings of $2.1 million, a 425% improvement from a year earlier, and says that most of its problems are behind it.

Heritage Financial Group in Albany, Ga., announced Friday that it has received conditional approval from the Office of Thrift Supervision to complete its second-step conversion and become a full stock company.