Shares of Old National Bancorp of Evansville, Ind., rose 7.7% Monday, to close at $17.02, after the company reported first-quarter earnings that handily beat Wall Street estimates.

The Alexandria, Va., "blank check" company Community Bankers Acquisition Corp. has put on hold its shareholder vote on deals to acquire two banking companies.

Cole Taylor Bank's pledge to beef up its commercial and industrial lending in the face of the real estate downturn has been made easier to fulfill as a result of the Chicago market upheaval caused by LaSalle Bank Corp.'s sale to Bank of America Corp.

Encore Bancshares Inc. in Houston reported a 33% drop in its first-quarter profit, from the year earlier, to $1.2 million, largely due to a bigger provision for loan losses and a $417,000 after-tax severance charge for a former executive.

Coming off a quarter in which it earned just $24,000, Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. in Waycross, Ga., is taking steps to cut overhead, including selling a Florida branch and laying off 10% of its employees.

Cape Fear Bank Corp. in Wilmington, N.C., reported a net loss Friday of $441,000, or 12 cents per share, for the first quarter, compared with a $435,000 profit, or 11 cents per share, the year earlier.

With its stock price falling Friday, UCBH Holdings Inc. tried to allay concerns about the 92% drop in its first-quarter earnings, saying it has "a good handle" on the construction loan troubles that prompted an unexpectedly large $35 million loan-loss provision.

FirstFed Financial Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif., is warning investors that it expects to report losing $65 million to $75 million in the first quarter, or $4.50 to $5.50 per share, as chargeoffs mount in its portfolio of option adjustable-rate mortgages.

United Community Banks Inc. of Blairsville, Ga., said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings dropped nearly 17%, to $16.1 million, from the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share dropped 23%, to 34 cents, in line with analyst estimates.

Shares of AmericanWest Bancorp. of Spokane fell 28% in heavy trading Thursday, to $5.24, after the company reported a first-quarter loss of $31.6 million, or $1.83 a share, largely because of a goodwill impairment charge.

MIDWEST

Northeast Bancorp in Lewiston, Maine, has bought seven insurance agencies in the last 18 months, but its desire to increase fee income only half explains its motives.

Despite strong asset, loan, and deposit growth, Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc. in Arlington reported a sharp decline in first-quarter profits as asset quality continued to weaken.

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., announced Thursday that its first-quarter earnings fell 37% from a year earlier, to $6 million, and said an increase in its loan-loss provision was a big reason for the decline.

Shares of First Niagara Financial Group Inc.'s stock climbed 6.2% Thursday, to $13.90, after the company said first-quarter earnings were roughly even with a year earlier, at $18.8 million, or 18 cents a share.

So far this year Peoples Community Bancorp Inc. in West Chester, Ohio, has had its deal to be sold to an Indiana bank collapse and been slapped with an enforcement order that restricts its writing of new loans.

Few areas of the country have been as hard hit by the real estate downturn as Southern California's Inland Empire, and, in the last few months, some banks there that were active lenders to residential developers have seen their loan losses mount and their market values plummet.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., laid off 115 employees as part of its effort to cut costs and improve its efficiency ratio.

Whitney Holding Corp. in New Orleans said its first-quarter earnings decreased 19% from a year earlier, to $29.9 million, largely as a result of an increase in its loan-loss provision.