Montana

Mounting problems in construction lending have forced NASB Financial Inc. in Grandview, Mo., to restate earnings for its fiscal first quarter and delay reporting second-quarter earnings.

Great Falls Teachers Federal Credit Union in Montana on Monday said it is offering a new payday loan that offers up to $500 regardless of credit history.

Net income at First Interstate BancSystem in Billings, Mont., grew 24.2% from the third quarter, to $10.8 million. The $7.5 billion-asset company attributed the results to strong income from the origination and sale of residential real estate loans and the reversal of previously recorded mortgage-servicing rights impairment.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. in Kalispell, Mont., said its quarterly net income was flat from a year earlier as lower interest income offset a dip in the loan-loss provision.

Private-equity firms willing to fund cash-strapped banks are snatching opportunities from more traditional consolidators.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. in Kalispell, Mont., said it earned $9.4 million in the third quarter, compared with a $1.5 million loss a year earlier, as its loan-loss provision declined and noninterest income grew.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that it has restricted dividend payments by three banks, one of which got $2.4 million through the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Montana's banks are struggling with weak loan demand and delinquent construction loans. Yet this summer they're getting a much-needed buffer from tourists, whose dollars are flowing into communities near the state's two bustling national parks.

The Federal Reserve on Monday announced it has taken enforcement action against banks in Montana and Florida.

Eagle Bancorp Montana Inc. of Helena said Monday it completed the second step of its conversion from a mutual to a stock company.

Many smaller banks say they plan to keep offering such services because demand is strong and overdraft fee income is essential.

In only the second bank IPO since mid-2007, a Montana company's shares debuted on the Nasdaq this week. Analysts say the initial public offering from First Interstate BancSystem Inc. of Billings, which raised $145 million Wednesday, is another sign that the capital markets are thawing and companies are starting to take advantage of that.

An initial public offering of shares of First Interstate BancSystem Inc. in Billings, Mont., debuted at $16 on the Nasdaq Wednesday, up 10.3% from the price Tuesday night.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. of Kalispell, Mont., says it may use proceeds from a common stock offering to acquire failed banks, a strategy that management had previously left off the table.

The parent company of American Federal Savings Bank in Helena, Mont., has gotten regulatory approval to complete the second step of its conversion to a stock company.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. of Kalispell, Mont., said Friday that its fourth-quarter net earnings fell 44% from a year earlier, to $9.5 million.