A New Jersey home builder that has filed for bankruptcy protection owes a dozen banks $248 million, and though bankers say they are confident they will be repaid, some other observers are wondering if the filing is a sign of things to come.

SOUTHEAST

After a decade on the sidelines, Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. in Olney, Md., returned to the acquisition market by announcing a deal to buy its first bank outside its home state.

Joe Matisoff is used to turnaround situations.

Pennsylvania has one of the highest concentrations of banks in the United States - 255 at March 31 - and the state's southeast corner is particularly crowded, with 156 banks in the Philadelphia area.

A number of Midwestern banking companies are eyeing Sun Belt states for growth, but Integra Bank Corp. in Evansville, Ind., sees plenty of opportunity closer to home.

Six months after members of DFCU Financial Credit Union in Dearborn, Mich., effectively torpedoed the credit union's bid to switch to a mutual savings bank, the members are still trying to oust board members who supported the conversion.

Longtime Texas banking regulator Gaye Griffin died of stomach cancer Tuesday. He was 50.

Continuing with its plan to bulk up in fast-growing markets in the West, First State Bancorp of Albuquerque has struck a deal that would nearly double its branch network in Colorado's Front Range.

Now that it has wrapped up its corporate restructuring, First Financial Bancorp in Hamilton, Ohio, is turning its attention to building its retail business.

Whitney Holding Corp. of New Orleans announced Thursday that it has agreed to buy the $258 million-asset Signature Financial Holdings Inc. in St. Petersburg, Fla., for $62 million in cash and stock.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd, of Lansing, Mich., has opened its first Ohio banking unit, Bank of Maumee.

MIDWEST

Thin margins, uncertainty about the path of interest rates, and a rapidly dimming housing market have done little to dampen the pace of mutual-to-stock conversions this year.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said it plans to continue its expansion in its home state by opening at least four branches in Orlando next year.

Camden National Corp. in Maine has combined its two banking subsidiaries under the name of its flagship bank, Camden National Bank.

Irwin Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ind., has opened two offices in the Arizona cities of Glendale and Mesa.

Since Mercantile Potomac Bank began holding Community Shred days last year, thousands of people - including many noncustomers - have shown up at its parking lots to destroy old bank statements, credit card bills, and anything else that identity thieves could fish out of the trash.