AmericanWest Bancorp. in Spokane said Thursday that it has given up on getting an investment from the Treasury Department, but that it is still pursuing other avenues to raise capital.

Four Oaks Fincorp Inc. in North Carolina has agreed to buy Nuestro Banco in Raleigh for about $2.7 million in stock.

I was complaining to my wife recently that everything these days comes in impenetrable plastic casings. Frustrated and in a hurry, I grabbed a pocket knife. Let's just say that the package wasn't the only thing I opened.

Horizon Financial Corp. in Bellingham, Wash., said Thursday that it swung to a loss in the first quarter and that Dennis Jones, the president and chief operating of its bank, had resigned.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. in Pittsfield, Mass., is shelling out for an acquisition in a neighboring market even as it prepares to repay government capital.

After a severe worsening of credit problems last quarter, and with further weakening expected, UCBH Holdings Inc. is under pressure to boost capital levels — beyond an infusion it has lined up from a big shareholder in China.

MIDWEST

Six months after raising roughly $25 million in an initial public offering, First Savings Financial Group Inc. in Clarksville, Ind., is putting the money to work in a deal that would more than double its asset size.

Bank of Florida Corp. in Naples posted its third consecutive quarterly loss Tuesday on another spike in nonperforming loans and chargeoffs.

As president and chief operating officer of Amcore Financial Inc., Donald H. Wilson spent more than a year trying to fix its loan troubles, all in vain.

In reporting a $5.2 million first-quarter loss it attributed to continuing credit trouble, Hanmi Financial Corp. of Los Angeles said Tuesday it has gone after deposits more aggressively than loans.

In reporting a $5.2 million first-quarter loss it attributed to continuing credit trouble, Hanmi Financial Corp. of Los Angeles said Tuesday that it has been going after deposits more aggressively than loans.

United Bancshares Inc. of Columbus Grove, Ohio, said Monday that it is seeking to withdraw its application to participate in the Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program.

NorCal Community Bancorp in Alameda, Calif., said it must restate its 2008 results after a regulatory exam and that it expects to swing to a loss because of an increase in impaired assets.

After five consecutive quarters of losses, PrivateBancorp Inc. of Chicago might have expected a more positive reaction to its surprising $4.8 million profit for the first quarter.

Many bankers have complained that valuing real estate has become more of a guessing game these days, but few have gone so far as Hugh Potts Jr., the chairman and chief executive officer of First M&F Corp. in Kosciusko, Miss.

Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane had good news and bad news about its first-quarter loss of $24.8 million.

Still struggling with rising loan losses, Capitol Bancorp Ltd. is now looking to sell some of its 53 banks.

Though many community banking companies are expanding in mortgages, the start-up First Texas BHC Inc. is going further than most by offering second liens on million-dollar homes.