United Bankshares Inc. in Charleston, W.Va., on Thursday announced third-quarter earnings of $14.2 million, down 44.3% from last year’s third quarter.

Wachovia Corp. is adding a Spanish flavor to its planned Texas expansion.

Brent Weber, a branch manager in Allandale, Tex., for Prosperity Bank, recalls an elderly bank customer who used to come into his branch almost daily to ask employees to help her balance her checkbook.

TierOne Corp. in Lincoln, Neb., reported Wednesday that its third-quarter earnings soared 34.5% from a year earlier, to $11.5 million.

NEW ENGLAND

AUSTIN - Independent Bank of Austin SSB does not project the image of what Texas' top bank regulator ranks among the most successful start-ups in memory.

BankUnited Financial Corp. in Coral Gables, Fla., said Tuesday that earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter jumped 70% from the year-earlier period, to a record $24.2 million, or 63 cents a share. Its fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. is under pressure from analysts to scale back its branch expansion to boost earnings, but its chief executive said the company is committed to its current strategy.

Northern Star Financial Inc. in Mankato, Minn., plans to sell a 49% stake in itself for $3.5 million.

QCR Holdings Inc. in Moline, Ill., has agreed to buy Farmers State Bank of Ridgeland, Wis., from Ridgeland Bancorp Inc. of Tony, Wis.

UnionBancorp Inc. in Ottawa, Ill., said Tuesday that Scott A. Yeoman has resigned as president and chief executive.

PFF Bancorp Inc. in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., reported third-quarter earnings Monday of $14 million, up 4.5% from the third quarter of 2005. Earnings per share increased 3.7%, to 56 cents.

Four months after signaling that it was ready to start buying banks again, Old National Bancorp of Evansville, Ind., has struck a deal that would take it into northern Indiana for the first time.

Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. in Westerly, R.I., said Monday that it earned $6.6 million in the third quarter, a 13% increase from a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 5 cents, to 48 cents.

Wintrust Financial Corp., said Monday that its third-quarter earnings fell 25% from last year's third quarter, to $14.9 million. Per-share earnings fell 30%, to 56 cents, 5 cents below estimates from analysts at Ryan Beck & Co.

Shares of BancorpSouth Inc. fell 2% Monday after the Tupelo, Miss., company was downgraded by a Merrill Lynch analyst.

Jeanette Muldoon's experience in a hospital waiting room a year ago inspired an idea for a way to provide better service to non-English-speaking customers at Investors Savings Bank in Short Hills, N.J.

Despite strong deposit and loan growth, Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp Inc. said its third-quarter net income fell 29% from a year earlier, to $1.6 million, or 26 cents a share.

American Banker will honor three individuals — John M. Eggemeyer 3rd, Jerry Williams, and Luz Lopez Urrutia — as its 2006 Community Bankers of the Year.