Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids has revised its fourth-quarter results to reflect a 65% increase in its provision for loan losses.

On the eve of a hearing on credit and small-business lending, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said Monday that regulators and banks must err on the side of protecting safety and soundness over encouraging credit availability.

Reversing a trend of the past two years, more mutual thrift companies are announcing plans to sell shares and convert to stock companies.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – State chartered credit unions may dedicate branches to specific select groups with signs and other promotions, as long as they make clear the operation is a unit of the credit union, according to a new legal opinion issued last week by the Department of Financial Institutions’ Division of CUs.

Legal collection giant Mann Bracken LLP, at the firm's request, will be placed into receivership and liquidated rather than filing for bankruptcy protection, according to Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court officials.

State regulators shut two banks on Friday, bringing the year's total failures to 22. The failures are expected to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $103.1 million.

Morphis Inc., a Dallas payments-management software provider, has introduced a low-cost, online cash-forecasting tool that community banks and credit unions can use to manage their automated teller machines.

Glen Burnie Bancorp of Maryland said its 2009 net income rose 212% to $1.26 million.

Sterling Banks Inc. in Mount Laurel, N.J., has given shareholders more information about a restatement for the second and third quarters of 2009.

BancorpSouth Inc. in Tupelo, Miss., surprised investors late last week by announcing it would delay filing its annual report because auditors found asset-quality issues that will likely require an earnings restatement.

A Lloyd's of London syndicate is the second insurer trying to escape liability in the massive mortgage fraud for which more than 25 credit unions are seeking recompense of up to $125 million.

With more borrowers making hard choices about the bills that are most important to pay, more collection shops are adopting a kid-gloves approach to recoveries.

EverBank in Jacksonville, Fla., is negotiating to buy a $10 billion package of residential servicing rights from Flagstar Bancorp, according to investment banking sources familiar with the matter.

Macatawa Bank Corp. in Holland, Mich., said its banking subsidiary has entered into a formal agreement with regulators that requires higher-than-typical capital ratios and orders the bank to clean up its asset portfolio.

The parent company of HeritageBank of the South in Albany, Ga., announced a deal Thursday to acquire five branches from the Park Avenue Bank, which has struggled with credit-quality problems.

With an overflowing pot of capital at his small New Century Bank, Jay S. Sidhu is ready to make some big deals.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King's office and the Alabama Securities Commission announced this week the permanent shutdown of what they call one of the largest debt settlement schemes in the nation.

NEW ENGLAND

PacWest Bancorp in San Diego has sold off a significant portion of its troubled loans at a steep discount in an attempt to refocus on growth.

Sterling Bancshares Inc. in Houston has hit speed bumps including a terminated branch deal, an earnings restatement and a sharp rise in nonperforming assets.