The Salt Lake City bank has formalized programs to help employees who are in the reserves or have active-duty spouses and children deployed far from home. Its efforts range from raising funds for a family with a severely injured son, to hiring a landscaping firm to mow the lawn of an employee in need.

Prosperity thought it had its bases covered, adding a clause in an employment agreement with lenders at an acquired bank in Oklahoma establishing Texas law as the jurisdiction for the contract. A judge disagreed in a decision that should get the attention of banks eyeing out-of-state deals.

Everything is on the table — including the table — as banks accelerate their efforts to trim real estate costs. Options range from subleasing branches that are too large to finding professional investors who will buy the branches and lease back a portion of them.

Heritage Financial Group in Albany, Ga., has agreed to buy a branch in a northeast Atlanta suburb from PrivateBancorp.

Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., has hired former KeyCorp executive Hugh Donlon to be its chief lending officer.

The trade group said late Tuesday that Peter Gwaltney will succeed Thad Woodard on Jan. 2. Woodard is retiring after spending 37 years in various capacities at the association.

Dominik Mjartan, the new head of a bank-affiliated community development financial institution in Arkansas, identifies with his underbanked customers who want to realize the American Dream.

Small-business loan approvals from large banks reached a post-crisis high in September, according to a Biz2Credit study.

The institutionalization of peer lending is pulling banks into more competitive bidding for loans as originators expand into newer and untested asset classes, such as online real estate loans.

The banking associations in Virginia and West Virginia have, for now, called off discussion about creating a single trade group.

Deposits surged despite all the challenges in banking, according to the FDIC's latest Summary of Deposits. However, underneath that upbeat number are a lot banks and thrifts that are suffering and a few that are capitalizing on the chaos. Here is a slideshow with the highlights and lowlights.

For the first time since December, banks appear to be holding the line when negotiating rates on consumer and commercial loans. The tradeoff, however, has been decelerated loan growth.

A gradual improvement in consumers' financial situations has led to even lower delinquency rates in several consumer lending categories, the ABA said in its latest quarterly survey.

Supporters of a modern replacement for a century-old community swimming pool in the hometown of Belmont Savings Bank had a fundraising crisis, and they are hoping a matching grant from the bank will save the project.

Regulators consider bankers' timing needs when reviewing deals, but it certainly isn't their top concern, advisers say. H&R Block and BofI are learning that the hard way after being told that their bank deal will not be approved this year.

Several banks, such as Woodforest National, operate extensive branch networks inside Wal-Mart stores. There are concerns that the retailer's new GoBank checking account could gut in-store branches' current business.

How have community banks fared with retaining market share in their traditional strongholds of rural areas and small towns? The latest FDIC Summary of Deposits shows their leads in those areas may be slowly slipping away for a host of competitive reasons.

Madison Bank of Maryland in Forest Hill plans to convert from a mutual thrift to a stock-owned institution. The thrift plans to raise about $24 million as part of its conversion, using the proceeds to fund lending and increase capital levels, according to a regulatory filing.

Former "American Idol" star Clay Aiken will face incumbent Renee Ellmers in a congressional debate hosted by the North Carolina Bankers Association.

H&R Block, for the second time in a year, is finding it challenging to get out of banking.