BankUnited Financial Corp. of Coral Gables, Fla., reported earnings of $23.8 million for the quarter ending June 30, reversing a $14.8 million loss in the same period of 2005.

Tower Financial Corp., of Fort Wayne, Ind., announced second-quarter earnings Friday of $912,000, up 8.4% from the same quarter last year.

WASHINGTON - The American Association of Bank Directors still opposes a provision in the regulatory relief bill that would give regulators more power over bank boards, even after federal banking agencies wrote a letter meant to ease concerns about the issue.

Pacific Capital Bancorp's new chief financial officer says the Santa Barbara, Calif., company needs a more sophisticated finance department to better manage its growing pains.

Premier Community Bankshares Inc. in Winchester, Va., reported Thursday that its second-quarter earnings were flat with the year-earlier period, at $1.8 million. Diluted earnings per share were also flat, at 35 cents.

Cascade Bancorp of Bend, Ore., said Thursday that it earned $9 million in the second quarter, topping the year-earlier period by 83%. Earnings per share rose 46%, to 41 cents.

Eleven Ohio credit unions have banded together to offer a cheaper alternative to payday loans, and more from throughout the country are expected to join them.

MIDWEST

Commerce Bancshares Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., announced Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings rose 2% compared with the year-earlier period, to $55.3 million.

Umpqua Bank in Portland, Ore., has released its first CD - not a certificate of deposit, but a compact disc.

Summit Financial Group Inc. of Moorefield, W.Va., reported a sharp decline in mortgage originations last quarter, and its chief financial officer said it is still trying to figure out why.

Marcy Federal Credit Union in Marcy, N.Y., has applied to the Office of Thrift Supervision for a mutual savings bank charter, becoming the third credit union to do so in as many weeks.

Mercantile Bankshares Corp. of Baltimore cleared the last of its hurdles to acquire James Monroe Bancorp Inc. of Arlington, Va.

Team Financial Inc. in Paola, Kan., has hired former Gold Banc Corp. chief financial officer Rick Tremblay as its chief accounting officer and intends to promote Mr. Tremblay to CFO by year's end.

Steven C. Preston was sworn in as the 22nd administrator of the Small Business Administration, taking the reins of an agency that drew sharp criticism for its sluggish response to last year's Gulf Coast hurricanes.

With an eye toward expanding in the Kansas City area, Equity Bancshares Inc. in Andover, Kan., has struck a deal to acquire a Missouri bank charter.

Baltimore-area banks ensnared in a check-kiting scheme allegedly orchestrated by a check casher are reevaluating their relationships with money-services businesses.

Shares of CCF Holding Co. in Jonesboro, Ga., soared Monday after it reported strong second-quarter earnings.

Whole Foods Market Inc., purveyor of organic foods and high-end meats, is entering a new line of business: agricultural lending.

Carrollton Bancorp in Baltimore said Friday that it will take a $1.2 million after-tax charge to its second-quarter earnings after falling victim to a check-kiting scheme.