Most start-up banks are having little trouble raising money these days, but some banks targeting African-Americans are proving to be tough sells.

Capitol Federal Financial of Topeka, Kan., said earnings for its fiscal third quarter, which ended June 30, fell 30% from a year earlier, to $11.3 million.

Many banks have sought to attract customers by opening branches in department stores and supermarkets, but one Kentucky banking company is putting a new spin on that old model by building a store in its branch.

PrivateBancorp Inc. of Chicago has agreed to buy the $217 million-asset Piedmont Bancshares Inc. in Atlanta for $46.6 million in cash and stock.

Community Bank System Inc. in DeWitt, N.Y., has a deal to buy ONB Corp. in Clifton Springs for $15.7 million in cash.

Abigail Adams National Bancorp Inc. in Washington said regulators have terminated their enforcement order against its Consolidated Bank and Trust Co. of Richmond, Va.

In its first nine months of operation, an industrial loan company with an unconventional business model has already amassed nearly $200 million of loans and is on pace to exceed its goal of having $282 million of assets by Oct. 31.

Omega Financial Corp. in State College, Pa., is selling three of its branches as part of a refinement of its retail network.

Placer Sierra Bancshares' decision to pull back its commercial real estate lending to focus on higher-yield commercial and industrial loans did not go over well with investors and analysts.

Wilber National Bank in Oneonta, N.Y., is suffering along with its customers from the June floods that wreaked havoc in much of the Northeast.

Federal regulators have taken control of a tiny Philadelphia credit union after a routine examination turned up record-keeping improprieties.

Bradford Bancorp Inc. in Baltimore is buying the $50 million-asset Valley Bancorp in Hunt Valley, Md., for $9.6 million in cash.

The wave of Texas mergers and acquisitions in recent months could accelerate dealmaking among small banking companies and spawn a new generation of publicly traded ones, industry observers say.

J. Roger Moyer Jr., the president and chief executive officer of Sterling Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., recognizes the power of words.

Ten Virginia banks bound by an unusual holding company structure are merging into a single bank that would be among the largest headquartered in the state.

Center Bancorp in Union, N.J., said Monday that second-quarter earnings fell 26% from the year-earlier quarter as a result of a balance-sheet restructuring earlier this year.

Habersham Bancorp in Cornelia, Ga., announced second-quarter earnings of $1.3 million, up nearly 56% from a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 52%, to 44 cents.

C&F Financial Corp. of West Point, Va., announced Monday that it believes two former employees stole $2.2 million from its mortgage subsidiary.

Gardiner Savings Institution FSB in Maine has a deal to buy First Citizens Bank in Presque Isle for $20.8 million in cash.

With an efficiency ratio of 78.32%, Sun Bancorp Inc. in Vineland, N.J., has a lot of room for improvement — and a long way to go before impressing analysts.