Pennsylvania

The National Credit Union Administration seized the tiny Free Choice Federal Credit Union in Philadelphia on Friday, bringing the number of credit union failures this year to 12.

Only three mutual thrifts have succeeded in going public so far this year, but the conversion market is starting to pick up, with two large deals on the way.

The proposed merger of two Pennsylvania companies with ties to Vernon W. Hill 2nd has been touted as the second coming of Commerce Bank. But more than nine months on, regulators have yet to bless the deal.

Under Jay Sidhu, the former chairman and CEO of Sovereign Bancorp, New Century Bank, plans to launch an aggressive mortgage warehouse lending initiative.

First Pittsburgh. Now Philadelphia. And First Niagara Financial Group Inc. says there's more to come. The Lockport, N.Y., company announced Monday that it had agreed to buy the struggling Harleysville National Corp. for $237 million in stock, or $5.50 a share. By itself, the deal would add $5.6 billion in assets and 83 branches in demographically attractive counties around Philadelphia to the $11.6 billion-asset First Niagara. Combined with a deal announced in April for 57 former National City Corp. branches in the western part of the Keystone State, the Harleysville National acquisition would increase First Niagara's asset size by 87% and double its branch count.

F.N.B. Corp. in Hermitage, Pa., said Friday it made progress on reducing its troubled Florida loans.

S&T Bancorp Inc. in Indiana, Pa., said Monday that it swung to a $10.2 million loss in the second quarter, from a $13.9 million profit a year earlier, mostly because chargeoffs spiked to $34.6 million, or 3.91% of average loans.