Be nice to politicians. They live in a different world and need your help to understand this one.

Banknorth Group Inc.'s third-quarter earnings missed Wall Street estimates because of slower demand for commercial loans, but executives said it is hiring more loan officers to increase market share.

KeyCorp of Cleveland has completed its purchase of EverTrust Financial Group Inc. of Everett, Wash.

Carver Bancorp Inc. announced Monday that the Office of Thrift Supervision has rejected its application to acquire the $195 million-asset Independence Federal Savings Bank in Washington.

Downey Financial Corp. in Newport Beach, Calif., said that third-quarter earnings fell as it lost money in mortgage servicing, income from real estate investments shrank, and expenses rose.

Texas Regional Bancshares Inc. of McAllen said Monday that its third-quarter net income rose 27% from a year earlier, to $19.8 million.

Harry P. Doherty, the incoming chairman of America’s Community Bankers, says he “gets goosebumps” thinking about the year he will spend leading the trade group.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said Monday that it plans to spend $40 million to build 20 branches in its North Texas markets over the next 18 months.

When Woodforest National Bank in Houston started putting branches in Wal-Mart stores in 2001, it decided to embrace its own version of the "Wal-Mart way."

First Defiance Financial Corp., of Defiance, Ohio, says it has taken a $1.9 million charge for the third quarter to settle a dispute that arose after the sale of its mortgage subsidiary more than two years ago.

On the same day it closed one deal, Wintrust Financial Corp. of Lake Forest, Ill., announced another.

American River Bancshares has posted its 83rd straight quarter of profitability.

After determining that growth potential is limited in many of its markets, F.N.B. Corp. of Hermitage, Pa., has been on a mission to bulk up in the Pittsburgh area.

Is this the last hurrah for pooled trust-preferred securities?

First Charter Corp.'s third-quarter earnings rose 28% from the same period a year earlier, to $11.4 million.

First Defiance Financial Corp. of Ohio has agreed to buy Genoa Savings and Loan Co. for $11 million in cash.

Oak Hill Financial Inc. of Jackson, Ohio, has agreed to buy Lawrence Financial Holdings Inc. of Ironton.

In the past two years IronStone Bank of Fort Myers, Fla., has devoted much of its resources to expanding into far-flung markets — from Austin to Sacramento to Portland, Ore. — but it plans to spend 2005 settling down.

Whitney Holding Corp. said Wednesday that it is buying Destin Bancshares Inc., a move that will bolster the New Orleans company’s operations in the fast-growing Florida Panhandle.