First Defiance Financial (FDEF) in Defiance, Ohio, reported third-quarter income of $5.4 million, up 32% from a year earlier, as credit costs dissipated.

Zions Bancorporation (ZION) in Salt Lake City reported lower third-quarter earnings but still managed to meet analysts' expectations.

It's senseless for most bank sellers to hold out for much more than 200% of tangible book value in today's world. It's better to sell early for a realistic price, experts say.

In detailed comment letters, banks expressed despair over the hardships they will face if regulators implement Basel III capital and liquidity rules.

The New York-area thrift is benefiting from an effort to make more multifamily and commercial real estate loans and has no immediate interest in selling itself, CEO Monte Redman says in a wide-ranging Q&A.

Independence Federal Savings Bank in Washington, D.C., has agreed to improve its practices in return for a promise by regulators to refrain from further enforcement action.

Signature Bank (SBNY) in New York has added to its presence on Long Island by hiring a team of private-client bankers.

The Small Business Administration said Monday that agency-guaranteed loans to exporters rose about 1%, to $923 million, for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30. The loans supported $1.7 billion in small-business exports, according to the agency.

There needs to be stronger incentive for bankers to behave, far-reaching cultural changes spurred by directors and a unilateral commitment to stamp out money-laundering schemes.

Two proxy advisory services have recommended against a proposal for Hampden Bancorp in Springfield, Mass., to explore a possible sale.

Sterling Financial in Spokane, Wash., is buying American Heritage Holdings, the holding company of Borrego Springs Bank in La Mesa, Calif., for $6.5 million in cash.

Higher noninterest expenses and lower net interest income drove down Bank of Hawaii's quarterly earnings.

Three banks failed Friday – including two in Florida – and will cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. an estimated $86 million. Regulators seized the $200 million-asset Excel Bank in Sedalia, Mo.; the $159 million-asset GulfSouth Private Bank in Destin, Fla.; and the $67 million-asset First East Side Savings Bank in Tamarac, Fla.

First Financial Northwest in Renton, Wash., a $973 million-asset company, lost $791,000 in the third quarter, compared to net income of $1.4 million in the second quarter and profit of $623,000 a year earlier.

First Niagara, a Buffalo, N.Y., company, has grown significantly through recent acquisitions but now it wants to cut expenses. Management plans to then reinvest those funds in fee-generating businesses.

Federal regulators are reviewing banks' growth plans, particularly those that include third-party companies. To avoid excessive scrutiny, industry experts advise banks to proactively discuss such relationships with examiners.

Regulators have announced the winning bidder for assets of failed Tennessee Commerce Bank.

Borrowing by homeowners and improving credit quality boosted third-quarter profits at BancorpSouth (BXS) of Tupelo, Miss. The $13.2 billion-asset company said late Thursday that its earnings doubled, to $23.8 million, compared with a year earlier.

The director selection model for too many U.S. banks does not reflect the industry's risk profile realities of 2012.

The National Credit Union Administration has selected a former examiner to serve as the agency's next executive director, Chairman Debbie Matz announced Thursday.