Territorial Bancorp Inc. of Honolulu is off to a flying start.

Looking busy may be the best hope for Temecula Valley Bancorp Inc.

Presented with a difficult choice between two risks — angering depositors or effectively extending a loan to crisis-stricken California — banks have varied widely in their willingness to accept IOUs the state has issued to their customers.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd. plans to divest itself of the Bank of Santa Barbara to an investor group led by California banker Eloy Ortega in an effort to strengthen Capitol's equity and core capital ratios.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd.'s latest divestiture deal underscores just how far the company has retreated from its original strategy.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

As financial institutions across the country confront mounting piles of repossessed properties, Sovereign Bank in Dallas is using an unusual strategy to clear its inventory and clean up its balance sheet.

To the Editor:

Chris Bauer, who took the helm last month at Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin, has a plan to shore up the listing Madison company, but acknowledges he may not have enough time to execute it.

Federal banking regulators have reached an agreement with Amboy Bancorp. through which the New Jersey bank has pledged to take actions aimed at strengthening its capital position.

Lee Bradley, who has spent much of the last two decades raising start-up capital for banks, is turning his energies to recapitalizing them.

The uber-capitalized Iberiabank Corp. may soon have a way to put its extra cash to work.

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The struggling Irwin Financial Corp. is selling branches and loans to buy time as it negotiates with the government to come to its rescue.

The ailing Temecula Valley Bancorp Inc. has lost its lifeline.

With the Bank of Lincolnwood's demise last month, Illinois briefly tied Georgia for the dubious distinction of having the most bank failures this year.

NB&T Financial Group Inc. in Wilmington, Ohio, has agreed to buy Community National Corp. in Franklin for $6.8 million in cash and stock.

There are a couple of slides that I use in presentations that seem to be getting more head nods than usual these days. My suspicion is that the increased internal and external stress that branch teams are feeling makes these particular subjects hit home.