More than 276,000 federal employees and retirees owed a total of $3.04 billion in back income taxes as of Sept. 30, 2008, according to new data provided by the Internal Revenue Service. The figure was up from $2.7 billion owed by federal employees and retirees in 2007.

Bad-debt buyer Asta Funding Inc. this week reported a net loss of $79.2 million for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30.

A few companies are trying to get the government to convert its preferred shares to common ones, but Superior Bancorp in Birmingham, Ala., had an even better idea, one widely expected to inspire imitators.

LOWER POTTSGROVE, Penn. – Students and faculty at Pottsgrove High School can now conduct their finances at school with the opening of a new on-campus branch of Tri County Area FCU.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Assemblies of God CU purchased a branch this week being closed by Village Bank, its second purchase of a bank branch in recent months. The branch is one of three being closed by Village Bank.

COLUMBIA, Md. – State Employees CU of Maryland has acquired a former Krispy Kreme donut shoppe here which it plans to renovate into a new branch.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington State Employees CU, the state’s second largest credit union, celebrated a grand opening yesterday for its new headquarters here, a five-story, 130,000 square-foot building on the downtown’s Union Avenue.

First California Financial Group Inc. postponed a common stock offering Wednesday because of a sharp drop in its share price.

First California Financial Group Inc. postponed the highly dilutive stock sale it unveiled last week, citing current market conditions, including its current trading price.

The Fed on Tuesday released an agreement with 1st Pacific Bancorp of San Diego, and the company's subsidiary, 1st Pacific Bank of California.

In a letter to Geithner, the Michigan Democrat said that the Treasury needs to tweak its criteria and provide assistance to community banks to get credit flowing to small businesses.

Despite raising nearly $620 million in capital this year, Flagstar Bancorp announced that it will be turning to shareholders for as much as $500 million through a rights offering.

ABILENE, Texas – Abilene Teachers FCU broke ground yesterday on a two-story building here that will serve as new headquarters and a branch for the $270 million credit union.

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The troubled Amcore Financial Inc. in Rockford, Ill., announced Monday that it sold $135 million of loans. The now $4 billion-asset company said in a press release that the loans were not strategic or relationship oriented.

It is tough enough to raise capital as a troubled community bank. Try doing it as a mutually owned thrift. That is the task facing Lincoln Park Savings Bank, which is undercapitalized because of massive losses on construction loans.

Self-Help Federal Credit Union in Oakland has asked California regulators for permission to acquire the struggling El Futuro Credit Union in Porterville.

Capital Bank Corp. of Raleigh said Monday that it has a letter of intent to sell a 9.9% stake to Patriot Financial Partners LP, a private-equity firm in Philadelphia, as part of an offensive capital raise.

The Treasury Department announced Friday that Trustmark Corp. had repaid capital borrowed from the government.

The Federal Reserve announced enforcement actions Friday against First Mariner Bancorp in Maryland, moves taken to help maintain the company's financial soundness, according to the central bank.