Community Bank System is right up front about what it is. The holding company owns Community Bank, which operates about 150 branches across nearly 30 counties in upstate New York and five counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, where it operates as First Liberty Bank and Trust. Focusing on small, underserved towns, the bank offers such services as checking and savings, money market, and NOW accounts. The bank's loan portfolio is divided nearly equally among business loans, residential mortgages, and consumer loans. Community Bank System also provides trust services, brokerage services, investment management, insurance products, and employee benefits plan administration.

BankFinancial Corporation was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Burr Ridge, Illinois. BankFinancial Corporation operates as the holding company for BankFinancial, F.S.B., which provides commercial, family, and personal banking services in Illinois. It accepts deposit accounts, such as savings accounts, NOW accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and IRAs and other qualified plan accounts. The company’s loan portfolio consists of investment and business loans, including multi-family, nonresidential real estate, commercial, construction and land loans, and commercial leases, as well as one-to-four family residential mortgage loans comprising home equity loans, lines of credit, and other second mortgage loans. It also provides financial products and services consisting of cash management, funds transfers, bill payment and other online banking transactions, automated teller machines, safe deposit boxes, wealth management, and general insurance agency services. In addition, the company offers investment, financial planning, and other wealth management services; and sells life insurance, fixed annuities, property and casualty insurance, and other insurance products on an agency basis. It provides its products and services through banking offices and an Internet Branch. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 18 full-service banking offices and 3 express branch facilities in Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Will Counties, Illinois.

Somerset Hills Bancorp is the holding company for Somerset Hills Bank, which has more than five branches in northern New Jersey. Founded in 1998, the bank focuses on lending to small and midsized businesses: Commercial real estate loans account for more than 40% of the company's loan portfolio and business loans represent some 25%. The bank also serves consumer clients, offering wealth management services in addition to standard deposit products and personal loans. Its residential mortgage lending activities primarily consist of home equity loans and jumbo loans to high-net-worth individuals. Subsidiary Sullivan Financial Services originates home loans for sale into the secondary market.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago is an $88.1 billion wholesale bank and one of 12 district banks chartered in 1932 by the U.S. Congress to ensure a secure source of mortgage funds to thrifts, insurance companies, and housing finance institutions. In 1989, the charter was expanded to include commercial banks and credit unions through the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA). Today, the FHLB System, which is regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is over 8,000 members strong.

Cheviot Financial happily puts the "buck" in "Buckeye State." It is the holding company for Cheviot Savings Bank, which operates more than five branches in and around Cincinnati. The community-oriented thrift offers traditional products such as checking and savings accounts, CDs, IRAs, and credit cards. Its lending activities primarily consist of residential mortgages; construction, consumer, and commercial loans round out its loan book. Cheviot offers investment services through third-party provider Souders Financial. Cheviot Mutual Holding Company owns about 60% of Cheviot Financial, which will nearly double in size through its planned acquisition of First Franklin Corporation.

Alliance Financial Corporation is the holding company for Alliance Bank, which operates about 30 branches in central New York. Targeting individuals and small to midsized businesses, the bank offers such deposit products as checking and savings accounts, IRAs, and CDs. Its loan and lease portfolio mainly contains residential mortgages (about 30%), commercial loans (nearly 25%), and indirect auto loans (around 20%). The company provides commercial equipment leasing in more than 30 states through its Alliance Leasing subsidiary. Alliance Financial also operates a trust department that manages some $1 billion worth of investment assets.

Established in 2002 to consolidate the operations of E.Sun Bank and other subsidiaries, E.Sun provides commercial banking, venture capital, securities trading, and other financial services to businesses and individuals throughout the country. The group depends on commercial banking services for its bread and butter (90% of annual revenues) and carries out additional financial operations through six subsidiaries. An attempt to acquire Taiwan Business Bank in 2005 broke down amid union protests. A year later the group allied with Singapore's Temasek which would eventually control 6% through Fullerton Financial Holdings.

Lyons Bancorp is king of the financial jungle. It's the holding company for The Lyons National Bank, which serves individuals and businesses from nine locations. Chartered in 1852 as the Lyons Bank of Palmyra, it offers standard retail products and services, including checking and savings accounts, CDs, and IRAs. Residential and commercial mortgages together account for more than half of the bank's loan portfolio; other offerings include agricultural, business, and consumer loans. Subsidiary Lyons Realty is a real estate investment trust that holds a portfolio of mortgages. Subsidiary LNB Life Agency provides financial products and services to bank customers.

Horizon Bancorp is on the up-and-up. It's the holding company for Horizon Bank, which serves northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan through more than 20 branches. It provides local individuals and businesses such standard services as checking and savings accounts, IRAs, CDs, and credit cards. Commercial, financial, and agricultural loans make up the largest segment of Horizon's loan portfolio, which also includes mortgage warehouse loans (loans earmarked for sale into the secondary market), consumer installment loans, and residential mortgages. Through subsidiaries, the bank offers trust and investment management services, life and health insurance, property/casualty coverage, and annuities.

Export-Import Bank of the United States for not trying to stem the tide. The government agency (Ex-Im Bank for short) provides financing for the export of American goods and services, mainly to developing countries and regions. Ex-Im Bank, which assumes credit and country risks that private-sector lenders cannot or will not stomach, furnishes US businesses (most of them with fewer than 100 employees) with operating credit and export credit insurance, and provides loans and loan guarantees to foreign buyers of US goods. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Ex-Im Bank as part of the New Deal in 1934.

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