Pacific Mercantile Bancorp Inc. in Costa Mesa, Calif., said Friday that its third-quarter earnings fell nearly 18% from a year earlier, to $1.4 million.

Sterling Bancorp in New York reported a third-quarter profit of $3.1 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4.4 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier.

When Capitol Bancorp Ltd., a Lansing, Mich., company with banks in 15 states, wanted to charter a commercial bank in Oregon, it ran into a problem.

Two Louisville companies, Republic Bancorp Inc. and the health insurer Humana Inc., have teamed up to offer an interest-free credit card that can help consumers cover out-of-pocket health costs.

Community Capital Bancshares Inc. of Albany, Ga., announced Thursday that it lost $447,000, or 15 cents a share, in the third quarter, in part because of a $600,000 provision made to cover a construction loan.

When addressing groups of managers, I like to ask if they believe the mantra that they should lead by example. Of course, they always agree.

Pacific Capital Bancorp in Santa Barbara, Calif., managed to turn a third-quarter profit despite heavy losses in its portfolio of tax-refund anticipation loans.

A survey released last month found that about a third of Texas banks are using remote deposit capture technology — a rate on par with the rest of the nation — though the number of customers using it at each bank is lagging in comparison to the national average.

Deteriorating credit quality slashed Imperial Capital Bancorp Inc.'s third-quarter profits by 75% from a year earlier, to $1.7 million.

Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. of Waycross, Ga., said Wednesday that third-quarter profits fell 48% from a year earlier, to $789,000, as a result of deteriorating real estate conditions in its markets.

The tax-refund loan business has caused Pacific Capital Bancorp considerable headaches of late, but mindful of the unit’s hefty contributions to earnings in prior periods, the Santa Barbara, Calif., company seems reluctant to part with it.

MIDWEST

Shares of Centennial Bank Holdings Inc. of Denver surged 5% Wednesday, to $5.50, after the company said it would unload $31.5 million of nonperforming real estate loans in northern Colorado.

Provident Bankshares Corp. of Baltimore says it is developing an Internet banking unit with high-yield accounts to retain customers it thinks otherwise might move their funds to an Internet-only competitor.

WSB Financial Group in Bremerton, Wash., gave more detail about the allegations of mortgage fraud that sent its stock plummeting 60% last week.

Pacific Capital Bancorp in Santa Barbara, Calif., announced after the markets closed Monday that it would record a loan-loss provision of $22.4 million in the third quarter to reflect increased losses in its tax-refund anticipation loan business.

Superior Bancorp in Birmingham, Ala., said Monday that its third-quarter earnings rose 78% from a year earlier, to $1.5 million.

Heartland Financial USA Inc. in Dubuque, Iowa, said Monday that its third-quarter earnings were unchanged from a year earlier, at $6.9 million.

Bankers affected by last week's wildfires in southern California used lessons learned from earlier fires in the region, as well as from Hurricane Katrina, to stay in touch with employees and get cash to customers quickly.