Merger and acquisition activity is at a trickle for most of the banking industry, but Valley National Bancorp in Wayne, N.J., is just revving up.

Shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Inc. in Newton soared Monday after the company reported second-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. of Nashville said Friday that it plans to raise $36.5 million in capital to support its growth.

After two quarters of surprising analysts with huge losses, Amcore Financial Inc. of Rockford, Ill., said its loan problems show signs of stabilizing, but it would not say how soon it might become profitable again.

Community Valley Bancorp in Chico, Calif., said Friday that second-quarter net income fell 36.4%, to $1 million, partly because of a higher loan-loss provision.

Green Bankshares Inc. of Greenville, Tenn., said Friday that its second-quarter earnings fell 79% from a year earlier, to $1.5 million, as a result of a sharp increase in nonperforming residential construction and land development loans.

The Small Business Administration is restructuring its popular Community Express program to broaden borrower eligibility and funnel more lending to low-income areas.

Umpqua Holdings Corp. said Thursday that its second-quarter earnings fell 49% from a year earlier, to $10.2 million, or 17 cents a share.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd. in Lansing, Mich., said Thursday that its second-quarter earnings fell 91% from a year earlier, to $623,000, because of deteriorating credit quality and higher expenses related to its continued expansion.

Capital is king these days, and community banks that either cannot or do not want to raise it are focused on preserving what they have.

First Financial Bankshares Inc. in Abilene, Tex., announced Thursday that its second-quarter earnings grew 2.5%, to $13.6 million, from the year earlier.

CVB Financial Corp.'s stock soared Thursday after the Ontario, Calif., company reported second-quarter earnings that beat the average estimate of analysts by 2 cents.

Thirty-five years ago, when redlining was rampant, the Federal Reserve Board put in place a sweeping anti-discrimination regulation (Reg B) that prevented banks from identifying small-business borrowers by race, ethnicity, and gender.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc. in Arlington said Thursday that its second-quarter earnings fell 28.5% from a year earlier, to $4.9 million, as it continued to struggle with the deteriorating quality of loans tied to residential construction.

UMB Financial Corp. in Kansas City, Mo., said its UMB Bank Colorado would buy the $89 million-asset Citadel Bank in Colorado Springs.

While several competitors have been concentrating on cleaning up loan portfolios, Great Florida Bank in Coral Gables has been busy opening branches.

S.Y. Bancorp Inc. in Louisville said Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings fell 3% from a year earlier, to $6.1 million. Earnings per share rose 2 cents, to 45 cents — an increase the $1.6 billion-asset company attributed to an aggressive stock repurchase program.

Texas Capital Bancshares Inc. in Dallas said Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings fell 31% from a year earlier, to $5.8 million, or 22 cents a share.