A survey of loan officers released by the Federal Reserve Board said that lending standards today are tighter for a variety of business and consumer loans than at any time since 2005.

The FDIC's return to black has led to calls for banks to get back some of the prepayments they made into the agency's Deposit Insurance Fund.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., is planning to restate its earnings for third and fourth quarters of 2010, as well as for the full year, after its audit committee determined that portions of the loan-loss provision it took in this year's first quarter should be applied to prior quarters.

One bank postponed its initial public offering because of recent volatility, and others stock offerings could be delayed for weeks or months. It was bad timing for banks trying to get the jump on weakened competitors.

Losses at First Financial Services Corp. mounted in the second quarter after the Elizabethtown, Ky., company set aside an additional $13 million to deal with problem loans.

Looking to trim its overhead, West Coast Bancorp in Lake Oswego, Ore., is planning to close three of its roughly 62 full-service branches by the end of November.

After initially warning investors that it expected to report a loss of $4.6 million in the second quarter, Wilshire Bancorp in Los Angeles now says that it turned a $2.1 million profit.

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency shut $538.1 million-asset First National Bank of Olathe in Kansas, the first failure in the state this year, bringing the total number of collapses in the country to 64.

Banking companies that received rescue capital from the government and fall behind on payments have trouble getting out of the hole.

The Obama administration faces reputational and practical problems if it rents out foreclosed homes as part of its new efforts to unload the backlog of real-estate owned properties held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Green Bankshares Inc. in Greenville, Tenn., reported a net loss of $12.4 million for the second quarter as it prepares to sell to North American Financial Holdings Inc.

Capmark Financial Group Inc. announced Friday that it has abandoned plans to sell off the controlling interest it holds in its bank subsidiary, Utah-based Capmark Bank, after unsettling market conditions broke apart negotiations.

First Mariner Bancorp in Baltimore disclosed Friday that it has a hearing later this month that could have a key influence on its future.

The Federal Reserve's vow to keep interest rates low for another two years has taken a number of bankers by surprise.

A pair of banking companies said Friday that they have been approved for participating the in the Small Business Lending Fund and plan to use the funds to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Some of the new red tape was supposed to drive deals, but it could dry up M&A among banks near $50 billion of assets.

The reality is sinking in.

Heritage Bankshares Inc. said Thursday that it had completed a $7.8 million investment transaction in the Small Business Lending Fund program.

The Federal Reserve this week took action against four banks, including three written agreements and the issuance of a prompt corrective order against Bank of the Eastern Shore.

Community bankers have a chance to have our issues heard over the next few months on the national front.