The former vice president of an Atlanta bank and a friend have agreed to pay fines totaling nearly $360,000 to settle charges of insider trading in connection with the bank's sale in July of 2002.

Buoyed by strong deposit and loan growth, Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp reported record earnings for the fourth quarter and the full year.

Whitney Holding Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings rose 13% from a year earlier, to $27 million.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

Sometimes one remark you hear in a whole day of meetings really strikes home.

Colonial BancGroup Inc. of Montgomery, Ala., announced another deal in Florida on Tuesday, its second in four months and its 20th in the state since 1996.

Amcore Financial Inc. of Rockford, Ill., announced fourth-quarter earnings of $12.9 million, up 31%.

South Financial Group Inc. of Greenville, S.C., reported fourth-quarter earnings of $37 million, 34% more than a year earlier.

First Banks Inc. is counting on a small bank in Chicago to help it connect with Hispanics in its other markets.

FFLC Bancorp Inc. in Leesburg, Fla., reported fourth-quarter earnings of $2.7 million, 24% higher than a year earlier.

Prompted by the state's bankers, the Kansas Legislature has commissioned an independent committee to review regulatory oversight of Kansas' 98 state-chartered credit unions.

Mike Sterkel, the president of Gold Bank’s Oklahoma City branch, saw the writing on the wall two years ago and did not like the message.

Oak Hill Financial Inc. of Jackson, Ohio, reported a 67% decline in fourth-quarter net income, to $1.05 million.

Republic Bancorp Inc. of Louisville said its fourth-quarter earnings surged 43.5% from a year earlier, to $6.6 million.

National Penn Bancshares Inc. of Boyertown, Pa., said Thursday that it has discovered "irregularities" in certain loan and deposit accounts and as a result is postponing the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings.

Republic Bancorp Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 15% from a year earlier, to $16.8 million.

The buzz in investment circles is that Fulton Financial Corp. of Lancaster, Pa., may soon receive a buyout offer that is too good to refuse.

From bake sales to multimillion-dollar contributions, banks of all sizes have been doing their part to provide aid to the tsunami-ravaged areas of southern Asia.

Lester Stroh, a founding director and former chairman of Vineyard National Bancorp in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., died Jan. 8 at age 87, the company said Wednesday.

Mercantile Bank Corp., of Wyoming, Mich., said it earned $4.5 million in the fourth quarter, 48.9% more than a year earlier.