The third quarter was a challenging one all around for community banks.

Bank Mutual Corp.'s plans for improving its lackluster earnings include making more commercial loans and selling more fee services to baby boomers.

A Houston company formed to buy a community bank is being forced to liquidate after its hedge fund owners vetoed the deal, according to its chief executive.

First Bancshares Inc. of Mountain Grove, Mo., said the Office of Thrift Supervision has determined some of the company's lending policies are deficient.

Community Bank and Trust Co. in Wolfeboro, N.H., said Monday that its third-quarter income fell 16% from a year earlier, to $1.79 million, or 50 cents a share.

First State Bancorp in Albuquerque said third-quarter earnings rose 10% from a year earlier, to $6.7 million.

Appalachian Bancshares Inc. in Ellijay, Ga., said strong loan and deposit growth powered it to third-quarter earnings of $4.4 million, up nearly 21% from the year-earlier period.

Irwin Union Bank is on a growth tear.

By all accounts, Fulton Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., had a respectable third quarter, reporting a 14% increase in net income from the previous quarter, to $48.3 million.

Growth in loans and core deposits at Glacier Bancorp in Kalispell, Mont., fueled a 16% increase in third-quarter earnings from the year-earlier period, to $15.8 million.

First Financial Bancorp in Hamilton, Ohio, said Friday that it earned $12.1 million in the third quarter, down 16% from the year-earlier period. Earnings per diluted share fell 2 cents, to 31 cents.

Whitney Holding Corp.'s stock price fell sharply Thursday after the New Orleans company reported third-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations.

United Bankshares Inc. in Charleston, W.Va., on Thursday announced third-quarter earnings of $14.2 million, down 44.3% from last year’s third quarter.

Wachovia Corp. is adding a Spanish flavor to its planned Texas expansion.

Brent Weber, a branch manager in Allandale, Tex., for Prosperity Bank, recalls an elderly bank customer who used to come into his branch almost daily to ask employees to help her balance her checkbook.

TierOne Corp. in Lincoln, Neb., reported Wednesday that its third-quarter earnings soared 34.5% from a year earlier, to $11.5 million.

NEW ENGLAND

AUSTIN - Independent Bank of Austin SSB does not project the image of what Texas' top bank regulator ranks among the most successful start-ups in memory.

BankUnited Financial Corp. in Coral Gables, Fla., said Tuesday that earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter jumped 70% from the year-earlier period, to a record $24.2 million, or 63 cents a share. Its fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. is under pressure from analysts to scale back its branch expansion to boost earnings, but its chief executive said the company is committed to its current strategy.