Nevada lawmakers are taking a second stab at legislation to prevent Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from obtaining an industrial loan company charter - even though the retail giant is not seeking one there.

Simmons First National Corp. in Pine Bluff, Ark., said Thursday that earnings in the first quarter rose 8.3% from a year earlier, to a record $5.9 million.

First Merit Corp. of Akron reported Thursday that first-quarter earnings were up 136% from a year earlier, to $30 million.

TCF Financial Corp. of Wayzata, Minn., announced Wednesday that first-quarter earnings rose 5% from a year earlier, to $63.5 million.

Lawrence B. Seidman has a well-documented history of shareholder activism, so when he disclosed that his investment group had bought a 5% stake in Interchange Financial Services Corp. of Saddle Brook, N.J., analysts and investors began buzzing that Interchange might soon be in play.

MIDWEST

The Independent Community Bankers of America asked congressional tax writers to study whether all credit unions should continue to be exempt from paying taxes on their earnings.

Westamerica Bancorp of San Rafael, Calif., said its first-quarter earnings dipped because of a loss from the sale of securities.

Fidelity Bankshares Inc. of West Palm Beach, Fla., said its first-quarter earnings rose 19.8% from the same period last year, to $6.8 million.

When Georgia Derrico and Roderick Porter sold the Virginia bank they had run for nearly two decades, their plan was to retire and split their time between their homes in northern Virginia and southern Italy.

My friend Bob Kafafian heads the Kafafian Group of Parsippany, N.J., which advertises itself as a finance, strategy, and operations consulting firm. But having known him for two decades, I think his greatest strength is common sense.

More community banks are switching auditors as their old ones turn down their business, raise fees, or quit the account.

BankUnited Financial Corp. of Coral Gables, Fla., said Monday that its second-quarter earnings rose 13% from a year earlier, to $13.6 million.

After reporting lower-than-expected first quarter earnings Monday, executives at the acquisitive South Financial Group Inc. of Greenville, S.C., said they are swearing off more deals, at least until next year.

Texas Regional Bancshares Inc. reported Monday that its first-quarter net income rose 39%, to $23.8 million.

First BancTrust Corp., of Paris, Ill., announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire Rantoul First Bank for $4.2 million in cash.

Earnings season is still young, but last week’s reports make it clear some banking companies are finding deposits harder to come by and are either paying more for them or going to the wholesale markets to fund loans.

FFLC Bancorp Inc. of Leesburg, Fla., said Friday that first-quarter earnings increased 29% from a year earlier, to $2.3 million.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Lockport, N.Y., reported a 77% jump in first-quarter earnings from a year earlier, to $21.1 million, largely because of its Jan. 14 purchase of Hudson River Bancorp.