VIST Financial Corp. in Wyomissing, Pa., notified investors Thursday that it is planning to raise up to $30 million in a stock offering.

The Treasury Department has ordered board appointments to two banking companies that have missed dividend payments on its bailout investments.

The Small Business Jobs Act set aside a $30 billion fund designed for smaller banks to lend to small business owners when it passed last September.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. said Thursday that second quarter net earnings rose 32%, to $8.3 million, compared with a year earlier after it slashed its provision by 80%.

Retailers will have better results observing customer behavior and basing their sales strategy upon that evidence than if they try to stay ahead of the curve by predicting what consumers want or will want in the future.

Banner gained $1.9 million from fair value adjustments on certain financial instruments, which played a key role in its quarterly profit of $224,000.

Shares of Astoria Financial Corp. were down in heavy trading Thursday after the Lake Success, N.Y., company reported second-quarter earnings that fell well short of analysts' estimates.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Buffalo said Tuesday that its second-quarter net income fell 32.3% from the same period last year, to $13.6 million, primarily on costs related to its $1.5 billion acquisition of NewAlliance Bancshares and other items.

Hanmi Financial Corp. in Los Angeles remained in the black for the third consecutive quarter, posting an $8 million profit in the quarter that ended June 30, compared to a net loss of $29 million in last year's second quarter.

New York Community Bancorp said Thursday that its second-quarter earnings fell 9% from the same period last year, to $119.5 million, as a surge of originations in multi-family loans could not offset a sharp decline in mortgage income.

Improved asset quality and upticks in its commercial and mortgage lending helped Taylor Capital Group Inc. in Chicago narrow its loss in the second quarter.

Dodd-Frank missed the mark on the two areas most critical to avoiding a future meltdown. The job of identifying systemic risks was left to an unwieldy committee, and financial regulators remain about as balkanized as the intelligence agencies.

Steel man Frank Williams Jr. aims to become a winner in the bank consolidation game by capitalizing on Great Atlantic Financial's losses.

Community Trust Bancorp Inc. in Pikeville, Ky., said Wednesday that second-quarter earnings rose 4.9% from a year earlier, to $9 million, on higher net interest and noninterest income.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department announced a new round of investments Wednesday as part of a program to encourage community banks to make small business loans.

Victory Bancorp in Limerick, Pa., said Wednesday that it raised $2.6 million in capital. The company sold convertible preferred securities with a 7% coupon.

Renasant Corp. in Tupelo, Miss., said late Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings jumped 51.7% from a year earlier, to $5.8 million, due to a wider net interest margin and a decline in its loan-loss provision.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc. surpassed expectations for the second quarter due to a "substantial decrease" in its loan-loss provision and a sizeable increase in noninterest income.

John Kanas released a statement on Tuesday re-asserting that BankUnited Inc.'s planned acquisition of Herald National Bank jibes with his noncompete provisions with Capital One Bank.

Fulton Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., said Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings rose nearly 15% from the same period last year, to $36. 4 million.