In recent years Crescent Capital VI LLC has tried unsuccessfully to gain control of two community banks, but the private-equity firm may be closing in on its first success, with Cowlitz Bancorp.

Umpqua Holdings Corp. in Portland, Ore., said Thursday that its fourth-quarter earnings plunged 77% from a year earlier, to $2.2 million, partly because of deteriorating credit quality.

Midwest Banc Holdings Inc. in Melrose Park, Ill., is under new leadership.

MIDWEST

First Midwest Bancorp Inc. of Itasca, Ill., said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter loss nearly quintupled from a year earlier, to $26.9 million, or 57 cents a share, as credit quality deteriorated and the value of its investments declined sharply.

There is a reason Timothy Geithner, on just his second day as Treasury secretary, vowed to improve the approval process for banking companies seeking capital from the government.

Suburban Federal Savings Bank's hope for survival is dissipating.

If FirstFed Financial Corp. is less than well capitalized when it reports full-year earnings, regulators will require the Los Angeles thrift company to sell itself or liquidate.

Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, reported a fourth-quarter profit of $10.9 million, or 77 cents a share, despite higher credit losses in its Florida loan portfolio.

An activist investor known for pressuring bankers to sell their companies is threatening to wage a proxy fight against Southern Connecticut Bancorp Inc. if it fails to find a buyer soon.

Provident Bankshares Corp. in Baltimore said Tuesday that it lost $26.7 million, or 88 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, mainly due to a $32.7 million pretax impairment charge on certain securities and a doubling of its loan-loss provision from a year earlier, to $21.5 million.

In these turbulent times, with some banks being swallowed up by healthier competitors and others disappearing altogether, it is vitally important that banks develop deeper insights into their work forces.

Sterling Bancorp of New York said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income fell 4.8% from a year earlier, to $4 million, primarily because of a slowdown in mortgage originations, but it was a strong quarter by most other measures.

Herbert L. Hornsby Jr., the president and chief executive of Cape Bancorp Inc. in Cape May Courthouse, N.J., abruptly resigned Tuesday, a day after the company announced a large increase in its provision for loan losses and said it was delaying the release of its earnings as it considered goodwill impairment charges related to a 2008 acquisition.

Swamped by a surge in problem loans, Sierra Bancorp in Porterville, Calif., swung to a loss in the fourth quarter.

Despite strong loan growth, First Commonwealth Financial Corp. in Indiana, Pa., said its fourth-quarter profits fell 24% from a year earlier, to $8.9 million, as it boosted its provision for loan losses and wrote down the value of its securities portfolio.

In many respects, PrivateBancorp Inc.'s 15-month-old initiative to transform itself into the Chicago region's premier middle-market lender is working. Client deposits grew by $1 billion in the fourth quarter alone, total loans have roughly doubled in the last year, and fee income is soaring.

Capital City Bank Group Inc. in Tallahassee, Fla., said Monday that it lost $1.7 million in the fourth quarter, or 10 cents per diluted share, as a result of increases in chargeoffs and nonperforming loans.

AmTrust Bank in Cleveland said Friday that it is selling five branches in Columbus, Ohio, because it needs to raise capital to satisfy regulators.