MIDDLE ATLANTIC

At least four banking companies announced Tuesday that they had returned the government's capital.

The deal announced Monday by Union Bankshares Corp. of Bowling Green, Va., to buy First Market Bank in Richmond for $105.4 million in stock is the largest of the year by far.

For Bank of the Wichitas in Snyder, Okla., picking a handle for its new Internet bank was not as simple as attaching "direct" to the end of its own name, because the owners wanted a unique name that would play both inside and outside its home state.

Guaranty Financial Group Inc. said Tuesday that its capital ratios have likely fallen below the levels required by its regulator.

At least four banking companies announced Tuesday that they had returned the government's capital.

City Bank in Lynwood, Wash., restated its fourth-quarter results Tuesday, widening the net loss to $64.9 million from the previously reported loss of $39.9 million.

Great Southern Bancorp Inc. was not a buyer of other institutions for most of its 86-year history, but a few months ago the Springfield, Mo., company saw an unusual opportunity across state lines.

NORMAN, Okla.– FAA CU has opened a new branch here in the former home of Fazoli's restaurant, which was the city’s first McDonald's location.

PALMYRA, Penn. – Members 1st FCU plans to open a student-run branch in Palmyra Area High School next month, the credit union fifth in-school facility.

Bankers today are experiencing extreme outrage from rank-and-file folks who are fed up with what they perceive as dramatic excess in the pay senior executives take home.

Preferred Bank in Los Angeles has revised its fourth-quarter earnings for the second time, increasing its loss to $5 million.

A Michigan banker is claiming — in court and the local press — that he was fired for criticizing his chief executive's request for a bonus.

Blue Valley Ban Corp. in Overland Park, Kan., reported late Wednesday that it lost $4.7 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a $678,000 profit a year earlier.

The National Credit Union Administration is rolling out an advertising campaign to reassure consumers that deposits in credit unions are safe.

SOUTHEAST

After a deal to buy a competitor fell apart last year, Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Shreveport, La., had to come up with another way to jump-start its growth.

Columbia Commercial Bancorp in Hillsboro, Ore., is operating under a regulatory agreement to preserve its capital, so that it can be a source of strength for its ailing bank unit.

This morning, the House Committee on Financial Services is holding a hearing exploring the balance between increasing credit availability and maintaining stringent lending standards.