Wisconsin lawmakers are considering legislation that would stiffen penalties for crimes against financial institutions and their customers and broaden the definition of fraud so that more types of crimes could be prosecuted.

The bidding war is apparently over. UCBH Holdings Inc. in San Francisco announced late Tuesday that it had withdrawn its $97.4 million offer for Great Eastern Bank in New York, which has accepted a $101 million bid from Cathay General Bancorp.

After 15 months spent making major structural changes, First Financial Bancorp of Hamilton, Ohio, is ready to cash in.

THE WOODLANDS, Tex. - Bank information technology officers have a lot on their minds these days.

Boston's OneUnited Bank has launched a high-interest online savings account, making it the first African-American-owned banking company to compete in what has emerged as the fastest growing segment of the deposit business.

A community development bank in Washington that has run afoul of regulatory requirements has brought in an industry veteran and Washington mainstay to turn it around.

Community Bank Shares of Indiana Inc. announced a deal Thursday that would boost its deposits in three counties.

Placer Sierra Bancshares of Sacramento took a big step toward its goal of building a statewide operation, and expanding its Small Business Administration lending, by making a deal to buy Southwest Community Bancorp of Carlsbad, Calif.

A tiny provision in the Small Business Administration's fiscal-2007 budget proposal has lenders worried that they may eventually become the government agency's sole source of funding.

Since Ohio Central Savings in Dublin launched its Auto Arm in April, the outsourcing unit has made $9 million of direct auto loans for 10 small banks but has yet to produce a profit for the $60 million-asset thrift.

Community banks have largely resisted the trend toward slashing pension benefits, working instead to salvage their defined benefit plans in an effort to promote employee loyalty and the accompanying community ties these banks consider their lifeblood.

A Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst disputes the widely held view that a flat yield curve is a major driver of consolidation among small banks.

United Security Bancshares Inc. of Thomasville, Ala., said its fourth-quarter earnings fell 15% from a year earlier, to $3.1 million.

FNB Financial Services Corp. in Greensboro, N.C., reported a $5.6 million loss for the fourth quarter of last year, versus a $2 million profit for the same period of 2004.

Several Midwest banking companies that have posted lackluster earnings in recent quarters could get bought out this year, according to an analyst report.

Good trust officers are in demand but hard to find, according to a survey of community banking executives.

At first glance, Sterling Financial Corp.'s $65.3 million deal for a Seattle-area thrift would seem to run counter to the Spokane thrift company's strategy of transforming itself into more of a commercial bank.