Business briefs: U.S. Bancorp's 2nd quarter profit surges

U.S. Bancorp's second-quarter profit nearly quadrupled and its CEO said the amount of bad loans should shrink in the next quarter, as defaults by consumers and businesses level off.
The bank's profit surged to $862 million, or 45 cents per share, including a gain of 5 cents per share linked to preferred dividends. A year earlier it earned $221 million, or 12 cents per share. Revenue rose almost 9 percent to $4.52 billion on strong growth in interest income and fee revenue.

— ASSOCIATED PRESS

Green Bankshares makes profit, credit quality improves

Green Bankshares, the parent company of GreenBank, made a profit of $1.56 million during the second quarter, or 12 cents per share, compared to a loss of $151.4 million during the same quarter a year ago, as credit quality improved, the Greeneville-based bank reported Wednesday. Deposits fell during the quarter by 2 percent to $1.99 billion and loans fell more than 5 percent from the end of last year to $1.9 billion as the bank reduced its portfolio of residential development and construction loans.

— NAOMI SNYDER

Mortgage Rates at Lowest Level of the YearFirst Horizon ends 2 years of decline