SCBT Financial Corp. in Columbia, S.C., which bought a failed bank and raised capital in February, on Friday posted its best quarterly results in two years.

In its second full quarter as a 100% stock-owned company, Capitol Federal Financial Inc. in Topeka reported earnings of $17.3 million, an increase of 11% over the same period in 2010.

First Mariner Bancorp reported a loss of $11 million in the second quarter, plunging the ailing Baltimore company deeper into a capital hole.

The $9.5 billion-asset company in Flint, Mich., announced after the market closed on Thursday that it earned $18.5 million in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $44.7 million a year earlier and a loss of $74.3 million in the first quarter.

Fueled by strong loan growth and improved expense control, Investors Bancorp Inc. in Short Hills, N.J., reported a profit of $19.6 million in the second quarter, up 28% from the same period last year.

Porter Bancorp Inc. in Lousville, Ky., reported a loss of $39 million in the second quarter after it wrote off scores of problem loans and took a hefty impairment charge to reflect its declining market value.

Integration of rare find in Texas could be done by yearend, and Comerica will be "regimented" about future expansion, Babb says.

A downgrade could deliver a massive economic hit, affecting the quality of banks' assets and the value of their swollen investment portfolios, economists and other observers say.

Market evolution in recent decades has made it harder and harder for smaller institutions to access capital. Meanwhile, regulatory restrictions impede alternatives that could fill the void.

What a difference a couple of years makes.

Joe Evans, the chairman and CEO of State Bank Financial Corp., better hope there's no Sports Illustrated-like jinx associated with Bank Director magazine. The Atlanta bank ranked No. 1 on the magazine's 2011 Bank Performance Scorecard in its third-quarter issue.

Buoyed by improving asset quality, National Penn Bancshares reported earnings of $23.3 million in the second quarter, compared to a loss of $5.5 million in the same period last year.

BankUnited Inc. said Wednesday that second quarter net income fell 14% compared with a year earlier partly because of lower payments coming from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. related to its loss-share agreement.

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., announced this week that President and Chief Executive Officer Patricia L. Moss has notified its board that she intends to retire in July of next year.

The pressure is on Comerica CEO Ralph Babb to prove the deal, which closed Thursday, was worth it. American Banker offers him some free talking points.

Bolstered by its acquisitions of two failed banks, Columbia Banking System Inc. in Tacoma, Wash., said Thursday that it earned $8.6 million in the second-quarter, an increase of 119% from the same period last year.

Aided by growth in its residential mortgage portfolio, Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., reported a profit of $36.9 million in the second quarter, up 12% from the same period last year.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced written agreements with four banks, including the $2 billion-asset Old Second Bancorp Inc. in Aurora, Ill.

Tennessee Commerce Bancorp has come up with a novel solution for settling a past-due loan made to another bank holding company: forgive the loan and take control of the borrower's two subsidiary banks.

Federal banking regulators are preparing guidance to address issues if the debt ceiling is not raised before Aug. 2, while large bank CEOs are calling for action.