Texas Rep. Helen Giddings said that when she became a victim of identity theft — a box of her checks was stolen in 2004 — it took her close to a year to straighten out her finances.

Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp Inc. in Harrisburg said Friday that its first-quarter profits plummeted 45% from a year earlier, to $1.1 million, largely as a result of increased expenses.

Shares of Sterling Financial Corp. of Lancaster, Pa., held up well Friday, falling just 0.2%, after the company said late Thursday that possible contract irregularities at an equipment leasing subsidiary would delay its first-quarter earnings report.

An otherwise banner day for the stock markets was painful for Hanmi Financial Corp. of Los Angeles and Capitol Bancorp Ltd. of Lansing, Mich.

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston said first-quarter earnings rose 57% from a year earlier, to a record $20 million.

When consumers apply for home loans, credit bureaus often sell their information to other lenders, which might call the prospective borrowers with competing offers.

Chittenden Corp. in Burlington, Vt., said its first-quarter earnings slipped 1% from a year earlier, to $20 million, because of a slowdown in economic activity and intense competition.

1st Trust Bank for Savings in Memphis has long been mistaken for other banks, and no wonder: 20 others in the Memphis metropolitan statistical area have the words First or Trust in their name, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Small agricultural banks are maintaining a steady rate of growth, despite the challenging interest rate environment and tough competition from large banks and nonbank lenders.

MIDWEST

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., has been a darling of investors for years, but lately it has fallen out of favor.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc. said Tuesday that strong loan growth powered it to record first-quarter earnings of $6.5 million, up 13.3% from a year earlier.

CHICAGO — Is the banking market here ripe for consolidation?

FNB Financial Services Corp. of Greensboro, N.C., said first-quarter earnings dropped 70%, to $697,000, because of a spike in nonperforming loans.

The National Credit Union Administration has told the $1.6 billion-asset Wings Financial Federal Credit Union of Apple Valley, Minn., that its plan to pay members of a credit union it wants to buy violates the Federal Credit Union Act.

Don't be fooled by Main Street Bank's conventional name.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares Inc. in Newport plans to acquire the $83 million-asset First Community Bank of Woodstock, Vt., for $15.5 million in cash and stock.

A former chief executive officer of Grafton State Bank wants to buy it back from Merchants and Manufacturers BanCorp. Inc. in New Berlin, Wis., the multibank holding company that has owned it since 1999.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. is expected to report first-quarter earnings a nickel short of the average analyst estimate.