F. Weller Meyer, America's Community Bankers' incoming chairman, is one of the most active members of the Washington trade group.

Two Rhode Island thrifts, Newport Federal Savings Bank and Westerly Savings Bank, said Monday that they have merged to form a thrift with five branches and $263 million of assets.

Corus Bankshares Inc. reported that its third-quarter earnings rose 41% from the same period last year, to $39.8 million, powered by soaring demand for its construction and development loans.

Texas Regional Bancshares Inc.'s chairman and chief executive said it is continuing to defer bonuses for senior executives; he does not expect to pay any this year and will not authorize any until nonperforming assets drop by about 50%.

Until Hurricane Katrina flattened much of the Gulf Coast, the $5.4 billion-asset Hancock Holding Co. was on pace to report record third-quarter earnings.

UCBH Holdings Inc. of San Francisco had been expanding in New York by opening a few branches at a time, but it abruptly changed course last week with a $103.6 million deal to buy Great Eastern Bank.

The $1.6 billion-asset ShoreBank in Chicago is widely considered a model community development financial institution, but its 11-year-old Cleveland unit never made the grade.

Two years after spinning off its Florida bank subsidiary, F.N.B. Corp. of Hermitage, Pa., says it is opening five loan production offices in the Sunshine State.

First M&F Corp. in Kosciusko, Miss., has struck two deals that would give the $1.2 billion-asset company its first branches in two neighboring states.

Almost a year to the day after its bold attempt to acquire a Farm Credit System lender fell through, Rabobacnk Group resumed its U.S. expansion drive with a $371 million cash deal for Central Coast Bancorp in Salinas, Calif.

Commerce Bancshares Inc. in Kansas City reported a modest increase in third-quarter net income, which it credited largely to a 10% increase in fee income, to $86.9 million.

MIDWEST

Just months after opening for business, a small New Jersey bank has found itself in a legal tussle with the state’s largest over the right to operate in the wealthy New York suburb of Englewood Cliffs.

Compass Bancshares knew it had to dump its proprietary fund family if it wanted to make any impact as a wealth manager, and it, like many smaller banks, believes it has found an impact product in separately managed accounts.

NBC Capital Corp. of Starkville, Miss., has changed the name of its lead bank from National Bank of Commerce to Cadence Bank.

PremierWest Bancorp in Medford, Ore., said Tuesday that its third-quarter earnings rose 44% from a year earlier, to $3.5 million, on strong loan and deposit growth.

Charlie Saeman, the president of State Bank of Cross Plains in Wisconsin, has wanted to offer remote-deposit services to his commercial customers for some time but has hesitated because of the associated risks and technology expense.

Independent payday lenders in Illinois say a new state law that caps fees on payday loans could wind up driving many of them out of business.

First Regional Bancorp in Century City, Calif., said Thursday that earnings more than doubled in the third quarter thanks to strong loan growth.