ACA International, the largest association representing collection agencies, debt buyers and collection attorneys, has responded to a report from the Consumers Union and East Bay Community Law Center called "Past Due: Why Debt Collection Practices and the Debt Buying Industry Need Reform Now."

NexTier Inc. in Butler, Pa., announced Wednesday that a private-equity firm, Snyder Group, has agreed to buy a 51% stake in the struggling company.

German American Bancorp in Jasper, Ind., said Wednesday that net income climbed 10% in 2010. The $1.4 billion-asset company earned $13.4 million, or $1.21 a share, compared with net income of $12.2 million, or $1.10 a share.

The embattled Capitol Bancorp Ltd. has boosted its common equity by $19.2 million following a trust-preferred securities exchange that garnered little interest from its debtholders.

The net loss at Green Bankshares Inc. in Greenville, Tenn., widened to $52.8 million in the fourth quarter from $76,000 a year earlier.

Monroe Securities Inc. in Chicago and Carson Medlin Co. in Tampa, Fla., are merging. The companies said Wednesday that they have agreed to combine their operations effective immediately, with Carson Medlin operating as a division of Monroe.

A federal judge has shut down an operation that allegedly posed as the U.S. government, then duped consumers into paying fees ranging from $200 to $2,500 by claiming the fees would cover processing by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Legacy Bancorp Inc. is proceeding with its merger with Berkshire Hills Bancorp. Under the terms of the agreement, the $1 billion-asset Legacy had the opportunity to pursue alternative bids during a "go-shop" period, which ended Jan. 31.

Properly training front-line employees before deploying them requires planning. It's far less expensive in the long run than making your customers pay for that training with their patience.

In the last two weeks of January, two failed banks did not garner a single bid. Though it is still early in the year to declare a trend, the two failures hint at tougher struggles to market banks on the brink and could mean higher costs for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The National Credit Union Administration plans to sell another $1.26 billion of bailout bonds this week, after last week's successful $1.51 billion offering.

For all the excitement generated by mergers and acquisitions across the Northeast, there is little else in the region to arouse bankers' enthusiasm.

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Integra Bank Corp. gave a grim outlook on its future after reporting that the total risk-based capital of its bank fell 168 basis points from a quarter earlier.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union has hired a former bank executive to run one of the most active funders of military charities in the U.S.

Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. in Waycross, Ga., said late Monday that it would raise about $17.1 million in its mutual-to-stock conversion.

A federal court has frozen the assets of corporations and an individual behind a vast Internet enterprise that allegedly made more than $275 million after luring consumers into “trial” memberships, and bogus government-grant and money-making schemes.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp Inc. in Philadelphia swung to a $9 million loss in 2010, primarily as a result of higher credit costs.

First of Long Island Corp. in Glen Head, N.Y., said Monday that 2010 earnings increased 36.6%, to $18.4 million. The $1.7 billion-asset company also said earnings per share increased 25% for the year, to $2.30 from $1.84 in 2009.

First Mariner Bancorp in Baltimore said Monday it had a fourth-quarter a net loss of $33.4 million after reducing the value of some deferred-tax assets.