When Varghese Chacko came to America 20 years ago from his native India, he tried to get a bank loan to start a direct mail business.

Several Texas banks are poised to capitalize on commercial loan growth as the economy in the nation's second-largest state improves.

In the dozen years through 2004 only two community banks were founded on New York's Long Island. Now two have opened there in four weeks - in the same Nassau County town.

Mercantile Bank Corp. of Wyoming, Mich., said strong commercial loan growth powered it to net income of $4.4 million in the first quarter, 47% more than a year earlier.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

Rabobank International of the Netherlands announced Wednesday that it had received a national bank charter and changed the name of its California subsidiary from Valley Independent Bank to Rabobank NA.

Hundreds of companies have missed the deadline for complying with the most contentious provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act - section 404's auditing rules. Hundreds more, including dozens of small banking companies, have delisted their stocks or sold themselves to avoid complying.

It is not too late to pick a student intern or two to work at your bank this summer.

Once or twice every weekday for the last 12 years, Ray Petty, the owner of Ray's Supermarket in Factoryville, Pa., would send an employee down the street to the Community Bank and Trust branch to pick up rolls of change or deposit the day's receipts.

After almost 10 years as a lender to small businesses, Salem Five Cents Savings Bank in Massachusetts is moving upstream.

Fulton County National Bank and Trust Co. in McConnellsburg, Pa., which reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1 million, has agreed to a regulatory order to strengthen its anti-laundering practices, review its loan portfolio, and improve its auditing.

More small banks in the Pacific Northwest are setting up foreign trade divisions to serve the Asians pouring into the region.

Shares of Nara Bancorp Inc. recovered slightly Friday, when it received upgrades from two analysts who said the stock's sharp drop Thursday presented a buying opportunity.

Fed Order Against Fla.’s Eagle

Internet-only banks targeting specific segments of the population have never really caught on, but organizers of one aimed at African-Americans say theirs will, because African-Americans prefer to do business with black-owned companies.

Robert Keller has $25 million that is burning a hole in his pocket.

Earnings at Sturgis Bancorp Inc. fell 35% last year, to $1.7 million, the Michigan company said Wednesday.

More and more banks are clamoring for market share in the small towns of the West, where populations are exploding amid a continued exodus from expensive coastal cities.

BankAtlantic Bancorp said Wednesday that it would extend hours at most of its 74 branches.

NEW ENGLAND