The 152-year-old Beneficial Savings Bank of Philadelphia has its first acquisition deal and is scouting for more - because buying looks cheaper than building.

Two River Community Bank of Middletown, N.J., and Town Bank of Westfield plan to merge and form a new, yet-to-be name holding company.

Citizens Bancshares Corp. of Atlanta announced Tuesday that its second-quarter net income fell 23% compared with a year earlier, to $471,000.

Salem Five Cents Savings Bank is acquiring the $262 million-asset Heritage Cooperative Saving Bank in Salem, Mass.

Meta Financial Group Inc. of Storm Lake, Iowa, announced a loss of $2.3 million for the three months that ended June 30.

Sixteen months after its high-profile beginning, NewAlliance Bancshares has settled down to some of the more routine tasks of building its business.

Back in 1997, when Beal Bank sued Richard R. Eurich to collect a 10-year-old debt, it brought a computer printout to court showing that Mr. Eurich owed $205,000.

There's at least one banker out there who's asking his employees to sleep on the job.

FirstBank NW Corp. of Clarkston, Wash., announced Friday that earnings for its first fiscal quarter rose 19.3%, to $1.9 million.

Loans that qualify for credit under the Community Reinvestment Act have been scarce in Old National Bancorp's rural markets, but new federal rules scheduled to take effect next month may change that.

The American Bankers Association filed a brief Friday supporting Community Credit Union of Plano, Tex., in its suit against the National Credit Union Administration.

First Security Group Inc. of Chattanooga, Tenn., went public Wednesday and in its first two days of trading sold nearly 80% of the 4.5 million shares in its offering.

America's Community Bankers has updated its guide to organizing board committees.

Wilmington Savings Fund Society president Marvin N. Schoenhals recently recounted an anecdote that he said best illustrates how the WSFS Financial Corp. unit was able to double the size of its commercial portfolio in less than three years.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

BancorpSouth Inc. of Tupelo, Miss., is acquiring the $347 million-asset American State Bank Corp. of Jonesboro, Ark.

Determining which bank will be the next to sell is a favorite guessing game among investors and analysts. A sudden stock price spike, an alarming drop in deposit share, or a crippling enforcement order could all be signs of an imminent takeover.

First BancTrust Corp., of Paris, Ill., said Tuesday that its second-quarter net income rose 23%, to $400,000. Diluted earnings per share rose 31%, to 17 cents.

Talk about long courtships.