Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston said first-quarter earnings rose 57% from a year earlier, to a record $20 million.

When consumers apply for home loans, credit bureaus often sell their information to other lenders, which might call the prospective borrowers with competing offers.

Chittenden Corp. in Burlington, Vt., said its first-quarter earnings slipped 1% from a year earlier, to $20 million, because of a slowdown in economic activity and intense competition.

1st Trust Bank for Savings in Memphis has long been mistaken for other banks, and no wonder: 20 others in the Memphis metropolitan statistical area have the words First or Trust in their name, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Small agricultural banks are maintaining a steady rate of growth, despite the challenging interest rate environment and tough competition from large banks and nonbank lenders.

MIDWEST

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., has been a darling of investors for years, but lately it has fallen out of favor.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc. said Tuesday that strong loan growth powered it to record first-quarter earnings of $6.5 million, up 13.3% from a year earlier.

CHICAGO — Is the banking market here ripe for consolidation?

FNB Financial Services Corp. of Greensboro, N.C., said first-quarter earnings dropped 70%, to $697,000, because of a spike in nonperforming loans.

The National Credit Union Administration has told the $1.6 billion-asset Wings Financial Federal Credit Union of Apple Valley, Minn., that its plan to pay members of a credit union it wants to buy violates the Federal Credit Union Act.

Don't be fooled by Main Street Bank's conventional name.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares Inc. in Newport plans to acquire the $83 million-asset First Community Bank of Woodstock, Vt., for $15.5 million in cash and stock.

A former chief executive officer of Grafton State Bank wants to buy it back from Merchants and Manufacturers BanCorp. Inc. in New Berlin, Wis., the multibank holding company that has owned it since 1999.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. is expected to report first-quarter earnings a nickel short of the average analyst estimate.

Newborns typically are mailed birth certificates and Social Security cards within weeks of leaving the hospital. In at least two states they could soon be receiving other important documents: savings account statements.

Pacific Capital Bancorp of Santa Barbara, Calif., lowered its first-quarter and full-year earnings estimates.

Bank of the Carolinas Corp. in Mocksville, N.C., said it would acquire Randolph Bank and Trust Co. in Asheboro.

Executives at Summit Financial Group Inc. in Moorefield, W.Va., view the company’s deal for the troubled Greater Atlantic Financial Corp. as an inexpensive way to scoop up low-cost deposits and strengthen its Virginia branch network.