To keep its capital strong after losses from its investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Cascade Financial Corp of Everett, Wash., said Thursday that it would cut its third-quarter dividend by half, to 4.5 cents a share.

Three-quarters of the community bankers responding to a survey released Thursday by Pacific Coast Bankers' Bancshares said they would vote to approve the bailout bill if they were in Congress.

Carver Bancorp Inc. in New York said Thursday that it has named Paul Hagan interim chief financial officer.

Banks are ramping up public relations efforts to calm consumers panicked by the credit crisis — and to distinguish themselves from the string of big-name institutions that have gone out of business.

Clearing a hurdle in its unusual deal to buy a converting thrift, Emclaire Financial Corp. in Emlenton, Pa., has raised $3.46 million in a stock offering.

A nonbanker buddy of mine was ribbing me just a bit a couple of weeks ago. He told me, "Man, I'd hate to be a guy trying to motivate bankers to 'shake hands and kiss babies' these days. You guys have to be clinically depressed about now, huh?"

A plan to streamline Irwin Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ind., by selling off $1 billion of home equity loans has failed.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. has raised the $65 million in capital it needed by a Tuesday deadline, but some bank trade groups are concerned that nearly all of the money came from Farm Credit institutions.

Gateway Financial Holdings Inc. in Virginia Beach said it raised $37.55 million of capital this week, fulfilling a requirement of its deal to sell itself to Hampton Roads Bankshares Inc. of Norfolk, Va.

Without a tax benefit for losses on its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock, the $980 million-asset Cooperative Bankshares Inc. in Wilmington, N.C., expects to slip below the well-capitalized level.

High employee turnover at a community bank can be a serious financial drain. Knowing exactly who you are hiring in the first place stops the bleeding before it starts.

Federal Trust Corp. in Sanford, Fla., is facing an uncertain future after a second deal to recapitalize itself collapsed on the eve of a deadline its regulator had set for it to raise cash.

Southside Bancshares Inc. in Tyler has merged Fort Worth National Bank into Southside Bank.

Banks are trying, but many American minorities remain "unbanked," according to Synovate's 2008 U.S. diversity markets report. Aegis Group's market research arm found progress has been made, but not enough to bring about parity. "While the percentage of U.S. Hispanics with any type of bank account is up seven percent, from 70 percent in 2004 to 77 percent in 2008, this is quite low when compared to the general market and African-American consumer, both of which are at least 90 percent," according to the Synovate findings.

A new class of megabanks, led by JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, has been willing to eat mountains of bad assets to get their hands on more deposits. Investment banks, once dismissive of the value of such holdings, now want in on the action, too. Why? In the midst of a funding crunch, deposit levels have emerged as the chief determinants of a bank's health.

Southwest Georgia Financial Corp. in Moultrie said Monday that it expects to take a $1 million loss this quarter on the sale of a property and write down as much as $4.3 million of its investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares.

The Treasury Department opened its temporary guarantee program for money market funds Monday and released more details about how it would work.

Shares of Macatawa Bank Corp. fell sharply Monday after the Holland, Mich., company restated its second-quarter earnings and said it would suspend its dividend payment to shareholders.

Battered by losses on its investments in Fannie Mae and Lehman Brothers, the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. is facing a capital shortage that could force it to reduce its role in providing a secondary market for farm mortgages.