Tower Bancorp Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa., said last week that its chief financial officer had returned from a medical absence.

State regulators last Friday approved a request by Bellco Credit Union in Greenwood Village, Colo., to expand in order to serve all 610,000 residents of Denver County.

Hancock Holding Co. in Gulfport, Miss., said Monday that Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. notified it last week that it had failed to comply with a rule dealing with director independence.

Camden National Corp. in Maine has formed an executive management team. The five-officer team reports to Gregory Dufour, the $2.3 billion-asset company's president and chief executive.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., said Tuesday that is overhauling its lending operations after reporting a big first-quarter loss.

Intervest Bancshares Corp. in New York posted a first-quarter profit after reporting a loss a year earlier. The $2 billion-asset company reported a profit of $1.7 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.9 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier.

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced enforcement actions against two banks.

G. Kennedy Thompson, a former chairman and chief executive of Wachovia Corp., will join the board of BNC Bancorp in High Point, N.C.

There are 7,604 banks and thrifts in this country, and the core mission of nearly all of them is to lend locally. As currently structured, however, nearly 40% of these institutions are barred from taking part in the Small Business Lending Fund, the government's latest attempt to stimulate the national economy from the community level on up.

In 26 metropolitan statistical areas, branches accounting for more than 10% of market deposits were operated by institutions that agreed to sell or failed since July 1.

Preliminary data indicates that C&I lending continued to show strength in the first quarter - but mainly at big banks - while other loan categories remained lifeless.

Baltimore County Savings Bank is looking to switch to a Maryland chartered bank from a federal thrift.

First Place Financial Corp. in Warren, Ohio, has deferred payments on its subordinated debt and preferred shares issued to the Treasury Department to save cash and comply with an enforcement action.

Altura Credit Union in Riverside, Calif., which reported a 2010 loss of $5.8 million, said Friday that it is closing four branches and laying off 26 employees, or 11% of its work force.

Norwood Financial Corp. in Honesdale, Pa., has received approval from shareholders of North Penn Bancorp Inc. to buy the Scranton, Pa., company.

Community Bank System Inc. in DeWitt, N.Y., said Monday that it has completed its acquisition of Wilber Corp.

The Federal Reserve on Friday approved an application by China's Bank of Communications Co. to open a branch in San Francisco.

Members 1st Federal Credit Union in Mechanicsburg, Pa., fresh off a trademark infringement claim with a local bank, filed a new lawsuit Friday against Merrick Bank in South Jordan, Utah.

Skeptics have often viewed banks with in-store branches as unconventional. Still, several community banks have tested the strategy and concluded it has untapped potential.

While a slowdown in failures is consistent with an improving economy, and the FDIC says 2010 was a peak year for the recent crisis, many say there are still plenty of failures ahead.