Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., said Thursday that second-quarter net income more than tripled from a year earlier. The $14.1 billion-asset company earned $33 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $9.2 million, or 6 cents a share, exceeding analysts' expectations.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Buffalo reported a 75% increase in second-quarter net income Thursday.The $20.5 billion-asset company boosted earnings to $20 million, or 10 cents a share, from $11.4 million, or 8 cents a share, in the second quarter of 2009.

A regulatory maneuver rarely used since the savings and loan crisis has saved Family Federal Savings of Illinois in the nick of time.

Public policy mandates are often incompatible with prudent lending as writ large by the failure of Fannie and Freddie. Bankers would be advised to say no, thank you, to the Fund.

NEW ENGLAND

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. in Nashville said Wednesday that it lost $27.8 million in the second quarter after reducing the value of some deferred tax assets.

Southwest Bancorp Inc. in Stillwater, Okla., posted a 31% decline in second-quarter net income compared with a year earlier.

Community National Bank in Great Neck, N.Y., announced it has raised $18 million in capital in its secondary common stock offering.

Atlantic Coast Federal Corp.'s credit quality is on the mend as the Waycross, Ga., company approaches its second-step conversion.

The financial reform bill slated for enactment today has nudged a staid Midwestern thrift to get bigger and take more risks.

GreenChoice Holding Co. Inc. in Chicago has completed its acquisition of Family Federal Savings of Illinois in Cicero.

Armed with more money and less baggage, private-equity funds are staking their claims in the Southeast banking market, changing the landscape of failed-bank dealmaking as they go.

Communities across the U.S. are experimenting with local currencies, a concept that gains popularity in times of economic anxiety and distrust of financial institutions.

North American Financial Holdings, a group formed by former Bank of America Vice Chairman Eugene Taylor, sealed deals to buy 3 failed banks in the Southeast late Friday.

Webster Financial Corp. in Waterbury, Conn., on Friday said second-quarter earnings declined 24.2% from a year earlier. The $17.7 billion-asset company had net income of $12.7 million for the quarter, dropping from $16.8 million.

Second-quarter earnings at Ohio Valley Banc Corp. in Gallipolis, Ohio, rose 5.4% from a year earlier to $1.47 million. The $823.7 million-asset company said Thursday the quarterly earnings were driven by an increase in average-earning assets and net interest margin. For the first half, Ohio Valley's net income dropped 2% year over year to $3.3 million.

After raising $172.9 million of capital in nine months, West Coast Bancorp said regulators have terminated the cease-and-desist order under which it had been operating.