As the larger banks go about digging themselves out of the mess they have made, and the US government haggles over this and that, there are several smaller banks that are quietly going about making a nice little return without making any noise. They do not make huge profits but they are making profit. Perhaps one of the ways they go about making these profits is by staying under the radar and tending to their own knitting-as it were. Investors that can sniff out these hidden gems may have nice small little profit centres that they can let sit and earn with little worry.

PSB Holdings Inc. is a bank holding company operated to manage Putnam Bank. The bank operates primarily in Eastern Connecticut and has 7 branches. Putnam offers a full range of financial services and was founded in 1862.

In a general sense, the company operates in the way that

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Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ Wednesday March 17, 2010 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** CPF, Central Pacific Financial Corp. Last Trade: $2.02 (+0.38 or +23.16) 2,957,586 shares traded so far CPF operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides commercial banking services in Hawaii. ________________________________________ BBX, BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. Last Trade: [...]

First Citizens BancShares said that it had entered an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to purchase Sun American Bank of Boca Raton, Florida. The bank failed on March 5, 2010, and the FDIC was named the receiver of the bank by the regulatory authorities of Florida.

Frank B. Holding Jr., the CEO of First Citizens BancShares, said, “South Florida is a great market for our company, especially with our focus on individuals, small to mid-sized businesses and the medical community. This agreement will allow us to extend our presence in Florida and focus on building long-term relationships with our new customers. Our bank is recognized for its strength, stability and exceptional service, and we look forward to a smooth transition.

Sun American Bank had 12 branches in Florida, and reported total deposits of $443 million, total assets of $536 million, and

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Below is a list of the small cap companies that have been making waves accross some of the world’s most popular stock market forums on Thursday, February 11, 2010. News Updates for: Cascadia Investments (PINK:CDIV), Washington Mutual (OTC:WAMUQ), Muscle Flex, Inc. (OTC:MFLI), and Pop N Go (OTC:POPN) Cascadia Investments Inc. (Public, PINK:CDIV) Cascadia Investments, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: CDIV) today announced the addition of a marketplace to its recent acquisition, CustomFlashGames.com. The marketplace will allow developers to list games for sale or licensing to interested parties while providing Cascadia with a sustainable revenue stream. Unlike other similar marketplaces, CustomFlashGame charges a flat fee for listing games. It will also help Cascadia identify talented new developers for future initiatives. In other developments, CustomFlashGames.com has begun to import the games it recently acquired to Facebook apps. The first such game, AdoptMe, where players earn points for their pets, will feature multiple games and can be seen in the ...

Town and Country Financial Corp. reported net income of $1.0 million, or $0.36 per share, for 2009, up sharply from net income of $113,000, or $0.04 per share, in 2008.

Town and Country Financial Corporation recorded an after tax charge of $1.8 million, or $0.65 per share, in 2009, to write off bad loans due to the recession and financial crisis.

Town and Country Financial Corporation is a bank holding company that owns Town and Country Bank and Logan County Bank, which have 11 branches in Illinois. Town and Country Bank reported total assets of $375 million at the end of 2009.

“2009 represented a year of both significant opportunities and significant challenges. We have continued to build the company’s long-term earnings strength as evidenced by our record revenues. Our core banking profitability improved and the investments we made in our mortgage business resulted in increased market share and profitability,”

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Baylake Corp. announced net income of $678,000, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2009. This was the fourth consecutive quarter of profitability for the company and represents a strong improvement from the fourth quarter of 2008 when the company lost $9.9 million.

Baylake Corp reported a full year profit in 2009 of $4.3 million, or $0.55 per diluted share. In 2008, the company lost $9.9 million.

Asset quality is also improving, with non-performing loans declining from $44.1 million at the end of 2008, to $28.7 million at the end of 2009. The 2009 total represents 4.38% of total loans. The company also reported a Tier 1 risk based capital ratio of 10.22% at the end of 2009.

The company reported a book value per share of $9.43 at 12/31/2009, up from $8.72 at the end of 2008. The stock is trading at $4.00 per

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NBT Holdings Inc. reported net income of $633,000 in 2009, up nearly threefold from net income of $187,000 in 2008. NBT Holdings Inc. is a bank holding company that owns the Nashville Bank and Trust Company.

The bank reported strong growth in assets, loans and deposits in 2009 compared to 2008. Total assets ended 2009 were $183 million, up 17.1%, while loans increased by 6.8% to $136 million. Deposit growth was even better, up 19.8%, to end 2009 at $155 million.

NBT Holdings Inc. also has a solid balance sheet and reported no non-performing assets as of 12/31/2009. The bank had a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 12.1% as of the end of 2009, well above the regulatory minimum of 5.0%.

The bank recently underwent a management transition, when Donald W. Thurmond, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Founder of NBT Holdings Inc., died in

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Front and center this morning, we saw the risk aversion that held a tight grip on the currencies and commodities for about a week, fade a bit as the day went on yesterday, and the dollar selling has carried through the overnight and morning sessions overseas. “What caused this turnaround?” I hear you asking… Ahhh grasshopper, come sit, and put away the sharp objects!

Yesterday – after the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims rose to near 500,000 once again putting some chinks in the risk aversion’s armor – the president announced his “new plan” to impose limits on, and restrict the size and activities of the US’s largest banks. The White House wants commercial banks that take deposits from customers to be barred from investing on behalf of the bank itself – what’s known as “proprietary trading”…

Now let me get this straight for you… This is for HUGE Banks like JP Morgan

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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) announced that it has received Federal Reserve’s approval on August 14, 2009 to become a financial holding company. Goldman had intended to seek FHC status when it first converted to a Bank Holding Company last year. The designation allows Goldman to continue to participate in non-banking financial activities, including private equity among other businesses. A financial holding company (FHC), as stated in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, is a financial entity engaged in a broad range of banking-related activities that include insurance underwriting, securities dealing and underwriting, financial and investment advisory services, merchant banking, issuing or selling securitized interests in bank-eligible assets. It can also engage in any non-banking activity authorized by the Bank Holding Company Act. The Federal Reserve Board is responsible for supervising the financial condition and activities of these companies. Morgan Stanley (MS), JPMorgan Chase & ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 14, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG), Lincoln Financial Group (LNC), Allstate Corp. (ALL), Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) and Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Insurers Eye TARP Funds

The Treasury had stated that some of the life insurers may qualify for TARP because of their Bank Holding Company status. As of now, considering the repayments from banks, Treasury has approved six life insurers for capital infusion under

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