Heritage Community Bancorp. Inc. of Glenwood, Ill., has signed a letter of intent to merge with First Community Financial Partners of Joliet, Ill.

AmericanWest Bancorp. of Spokane reported a third-quarter loss of $96.9 million, or $5.63 a share, compared with a profit of $5.3 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier.

Like hundreds of other banks, International Bancshares Corp. in Laredo, Tex., is weighing whether to apply for the Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program.

With more than a fifth of its loans not performing, Corus Bankshares Inc. has turned off the origination spigot and is not planning to turn it back on anytime soon.

The banking industry is being painted as the scapegoat for the growing economic malaise that now infects the nation.

The three CEOs lead companies that are vastly different from one another, but one thing that they have in common is that they have remained strong performers in what has been the most challenging climate for banks since the savings and loan crisis.

Temecula Valley Bancorp Inc. in Temecula, Calif., said Thursday that it lost $3.6 million in the third quarter after setting aside $7.6 million to cover problem real estate and construction loans.

The secondary market for Small Business Administration loans has dried up over the past few weeks, and that has forced active SBA lenders such as Unity Bancorp Inc. in Clinton, N.J., to make some tough business decisions.

MIDWEST

Small businesses affected by the departure of an owner or "essential employee" on active military duty can now apply for loans earlier, and ask for more money with fewer collateral requirements, under changes in a Small Business Administration program that took effect Tuesday.

Flushing Financial Corp. in Lake Success, N.Y., said late Tuesday that its third-quarter net income fell 63% from a year earlier, to $2.1 million.

What persuaded Stearns Financial Services Inc. of St. Cloud, Minn., to reach across the country and buy a failed bank in Alpharetta, Ga.?

Sterling Bancshares Inc. in Houston said Tuesday that third-quarter profits fell 51% a year earlier, to $7.1 billion, as asset quality weakened in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and the bankruptcy of a large commercial customer.

NBT Bancorp Inc. in Norwich, N.Y., said its third-quarter earnings were flat from a year earlier, at $15.1 million, or 46 cents a share.

Provident Bankshares Corp. in Baltimore swung to a loss in the third quarter after taking a $24.6 million impairment charge on investment securities that have sharply declined in value.

PrivateBancorp Inc. of Chicago said Monday that it lost $7.3 million, or 21 cents a share, in the third quarter as a result of a sharp increase in its loan-loss provision and expenses related to its rapid expansion.

First Niagara Financial Group in Lockport, N.Y., and Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. in Pittsfield, Mass., did not need to apply for funds through the Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program because they had just completed stock offerings of their own.

Buoyed by a one-time gain on the sale of its merchant credit card acquiring business, QCR Holdings Inc. in Moline, Ill., said Friday that third-quarter earnings rose 169% from a year earlier, to $4.3 million.

Though its credit quality weakened, First Financial Holdings Inc. in Charleston, S.C., said Friday that earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, increased 21.5% from a year earlier, to $6.3 million.