The Treasury Department is trying to hammer out legal details for a scheme to use Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to buy SBA-backed loans.

First Pittsburgh. Now Philadelphia. And First Niagara Financial Group Inc. says there's more to come. The Lockport, N.Y., company announced Monday that it had agreed to buy the struggling Harleysville National Corp. for $237 million in stock, or $5.50 a share. By itself, the deal would add $5.6 billion in assets and 83 branches in demographically attractive counties around Philadelphia to the $11.6 billion-asset First Niagara. Combined with a deal announced in April for 57 former National City Corp. branches in the western part of the Keystone State, the Harleysville National acquisition would increase First Niagara's asset size by 87% and double its branch count.

F.N.B. Corp. in Hermitage, Pa., said Friday it made progress on reducing its troubled Florida loans.

WASHINGTON — In one fell swoop, regulators seized a $2.8 billion-asset Georgia banking company and its six subsidiaries and sold them off to another bank in the state. The six failures, along with one earlier in the evening in New York State, brought the year’s total to 64. Since June 26, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has handled 24 failures, averaging almost five a week.

Nonperforming assets continued to rise at an already stressed Citizens Republic Bancorp of Flint, Mich., in the second quarter, as the Michigan economy deteriorated further.

With loan trouble continuing to escalate, United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga., swung to a $23.1 million operating loss in the second quarter, from a $7.1 million operating profit a year earlier.

Recognizing the cash crunch many small businesses are facing, a Colorado banking company has come up with a plan to help them increase their visibility — and, it's hoped, their sales — without increasing their marketing budgets.

Despite a boost from the sale of its Colorado branches, First State Bancorp in Albuquerque said Thursday that it lost $6.2 million in the second quarter.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd. has spent years expanding into growth markets to offset the sputtering Michigan economy. But now Capitol, sputtering itself, is practically dumping its home state.

Guaranty Financial Group Inc. in Austin, Tex., is conceding defeat. The $14.4 billion-asset company said late Thursday that its thrift unit is essentially being run by the Office of Thrift Supervision and is likely to be seized soon.

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Like New Orleans next door, Omni Bank in Metarie, La., is undergoing a reincarnation of sorts. The $750 million-asset bank has hired new management and is shifting its focus from residential loans to commercial and industrial. Plus, plans are being made to bulk up through acquisitions.

Though its Florida bank unit continued to struggle, Park National in Newark, Ohio, earned $19.9M in the 2Q, a 9.2% increase from a year earlier.

Though its Florida bank unit continued to struggle, Park National in Newark, Ohio, earned $19.9M in the second quarter, a 9.2% increase from a year earlier.

As it prepares to report an anomalous quarterly loss, West Bancorp. Inc. in West Des Moines is searching for a new chief executive officer.

East West Bancorp Inc. in Pasadena, Calif., which has raised $168.9 million of common equity in the past several weeks, is trying to bring in more.

S&T Bancorp Inc. in Indiana, Pa., said Monday that it swung to a $10.2 million loss in the second quarter, from a $13.9 million profit a year earlier, mostly because chargeoffs spiked to $34.6 million, or 3.91% of average loans.

Meridian Interstate Bancorp in Boston said Monday it has agreed to acquire the struggling Mt. Washington Co-operative Bank in South Boston.