The mortgage meltdown has sullied the reputations of more than a few lenders, so banking companies are going on the offensive to preserve theirs.

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp Inc. in Hazard said that its profits for its last fiscal year, which ended June 30, fell 49% from a year earlier, to $810,000.

Comerica Inc. has dropped its plan to pursue a national bank charter as its planned move to Texas nears.

Randall G. Fox, the vice chairman of Oxford Bank Corp. in Michigan, died Thursday at the age of 66, the company said.

A recent hike in the cost of applying for U.S. citizenship is providing bankers a fresh opportunity to court Hispanic immigrants as customers.

Anadarko Bank and Trust Co. in Oklahoma must improve its lending procedures and board oversight under an agreement it has reached with the Federal Reserve Board and the Oklahoma State Banking Department.

BancorpSouth Inc. is wasting no time bulking up in Missouri.

Comerica Inc. has dropped its plan to pursue a national bank charter as its planned move to Texas nears.

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge has sided with the $300 million-asset Westborough Bank in a dispute with shareholders over its proposed sale.

The Credit Union Journal

ViewPoint Bank in Plano, Tex., announced that it has a $1.2 million cash deal for the assets and loan origination business of Bankers Financial Mortgage Group Ltd. in Dallas.

Marco Community Bank of Marco Island, Fla., has entered an agreement with the Federal Reserve, which cited problems with the bank's asset quality, credit administration, and risk management.

Comerica Inc. has dropped its plan to pursue a national bank charter as its planned move to Texas nears.

BancorpSouth Inc. is wasting no time bulking up in Missouri.

Mary Cheh dreams big — the first-term City Councilwoman wants to transform the District of Columbia into a financial center.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc.'s biggest shareholder has terminated its deal to reacquire a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., home builder BankAtlantic spun off three years earlier.

Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville announced late Wednesday that it is buying Mid-America Bancshares Inc. of Nashville for $196 million in cash and stock.

MIDWEST

Pacific Commerce Bank in Los Angeles said Wednesday that it had converted its national charter into a state one, so it could have higher lending limits for its new focus on commercial real estate lending.

Atlantic Southern Financial Group Inc. of Macon, Ga., is moving into Florida.