Virginia Financial Group Inc. in Culpeper is merging two of its separately branded banks into one to improve efficiency.

Peoples Financial Corp. in Biloxi, Miss., reported a $2.7 million profit in the third quarter, a marked improvement over the year earlier, when Hurricane Katrina wiped out its earnings.

Texas Regional Bancshares Inc. in McAllen said Monday that its third-quarter earnings fell about 17.5% from the year earlier, to $16.4 million, due largely to an increase in its provision for loan losses. Per-share earnings fell 16.7%, to 30 cents.

Two Chicago bankers took special satisfaction in the announcement last week that Bangladeshi banker Muhammad Yunus and his bank had won the Nobel Peace Prize for making microloans to the poor.

Provident Financial Services Inc. in Jersey City announced Monday that it would buy First Morris Bank and Trust in Morris Township, N.J., for $124 million.

Many of us dream of more glamorous careers — professional athlete, four-star chef, rock star — but Connecticut banker Mark E. Macomber is right where he wants to be.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp's public offering might be nine months away, but investors are already betting it will be a big one.

Eastern Virginia Bankshares in Tappahannock reported a record $2 million of net income for the third quarter, up 16.7% from a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 17.6%, to 40 cents.

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., said its third-quarter net income rose 70.4% from the same quarter last year, to $10.5 million, mainly because of the April acquisition of F&M Holding Co. in Boise, Idaho.

WASHINGTON - In the three decades that America's Community Bankers has been publishing its annual bank compensation and benefits survey, one consistent trend has been that executive salaries generally rise from year to year.

Industry consolidation has led to a merger of two more state banking trade groups.

Rurban Financial Corp. of Defiance, Ohio, announced that it had applied to its regulators to open a full-service branch in Fort Wayne, Ind.

A New Jersey home builder that has filed for bankruptcy protection owes a dozen banks $248 million, and though bankers say they are confident they will be repaid, some other observers are wondering if the filing is a sign of things to come.

SOUTHEAST

After a decade on the sidelines, Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. in Olney, Md., returned to the acquisition market by announcing a deal to buy its first bank outside its home state.

Joe Matisoff is used to turnaround situations.

Pennsylvania has one of the highest concentrations of banks in the United States - 255 at March 31 - and the state's southeast corner is particularly crowded, with 156 banks in the Philadelphia area.

A number of Midwestern banking companies are eyeing Sun Belt states for growth, but Integra Bank Corp. in Evansville, Ind., sees plenty of opportunity closer to home.

Six months after members of DFCU Financial Credit Union in Dearborn, Mich., effectively torpedoed the credit union's bid to switch to a mutual savings bank, the members are still trying to oust board members who supported the conversion.

Longtime Texas banking regulator Gaye Griffin died of stomach cancer Tuesday. He was 50.