KfW Bankengruppe is a state-owned development bank designed to assist developing countries and the German economy. The bank lends to small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) and buys securitized SME loan portfolios from German banks in order to keep that area of lending robust. It also provides funds for housing, infrastructure, environmental protection, and venture capital. Additionally, KfW finances telecommunications, transportation, energy infrastructure, and industrial projects around the world. The bank receives funds from the federal budget as well as through investments in the domestic and international capital markets. The German government owns 80% of KfW; the Lender, or German states, own the rest.

BGL BNP Paribas covers both general and specific banking needs for customers in the grand duchy and beyond. The bank offers a wide variety of financial services to individuals, businesses, and government institutions. For private consumers, it operates about 35 retail branches throughout Luxembourg and also offers Internet-based banking. For businesses, the bank offers such services as foreign-exchange transactions and international trade financing. It also engages in private banking for wealthy clients. In 2009 BNP Paribas acquired a 67% stake in BGL and 75% of its previous parent, Fortis.

Delta Community Credit Union is a cooperative, owned and operated by its members. This is what distinguishes the Credit Union from other financial institutions. Members put their money in a variety of savings accounts, and that money, in turn, is lent to members. After operating expenses and reserve requirements are met, loan income is returned to all members in the form of dividends and comprehensive financial services.

Charter Financial is the savings and loan holding company for CharterBank, which operates more than a dozen branches and loan production offices in western Georgia and eastern Alabama. Deposit products include consumer and commercial checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and CDs. The bank is focused on real estate lending, with residential and commercial mortgages each accounting for more than a third of its loan portfolio. It also makes consumer, business, construction, and land development loans. The bank gives cash awards to high school customers for making straight A's. Mutual holding company First Charter MHC owns more than 80% of Charter Financial.

Forget Elsie. S.Y. Bancorp is more interested in a cash cow. It's the holding company of Stock Yards Bank & Trust, which operates about 30 branches primarily in and around Louisville, Kentucky, but also in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Founded in 1904, the bank targets individuals and regional business customers, offering standard retail services such as checking and savings accounts, credit cards, certificates of deposit, and IRAs. Trust services are also available; brokerage and credit card services are offered through agreements with other banks. Real estate mortgages account for about 50% of the bank's loan portfolio, which also includes commercial (25%), construction, and consumer loans.

Lakeland Financial is the holding company for Lake City Bank, which serves area business customers and individuals through more than 40 branches scattered across about a dozen northern Indiana counties. Founded in 1872 in Warsaw, Indiana, the bank offers such standard retail services as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs. Commercial loans, including agricultural loans and mortgages, make up about 80% of the bank's loan portfolio. Lake City Bank also offers investment products and services such as corporate and personal trust, brokerage, employee benefit plans, and estate planning.

STEN Corporation is a diversified holding company with operations in automobile financing and contract manufacturing. Its STEN Financial subsidiary operates subprime auto lender and dealership inventory financing business STEN Credit Corporation and the Arizona-based EasyDrive Cars and Credit used car lots. STEN also owns Stencor, which manufactures products including surgical sterilization containers and filters (for STERIS Corporation, its largest customer), air filtration systems, and pest-control systems. CEO Kenneth Brimmer owns about a quarter of the company, as does former director Gary Copperud, who controls former subsidiary Burger Time.

British Arab Commercial Bank plc provides trade and project financing for Arab markets, offering such services as project lending, trade financing, bonding and guarantees, and cross-border leasing. Its trade services operations represent the company's largest business segment, generating about one-third of sales. BACB also has offices in Algeria and Libya. The Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB) controls the company after boosting its ownership to more than 80% in 2010.

HCSB Financial has erased the state lines in the Carolinas. The institution is the holding company for Horry County State Bank, which operates more than a dozen branches that serve Horry and Marion counties in South Carolina, and Columbus and Brunswick counties in North Carolina. Horry County State Bank offers traditional deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, CDs, money market accounts, and IRAs. The bank originates primarily real estate loans (more than half of its loan portfolio), followed by business loans, construction and development loans, consumer loans, and agricultural loans. The bank also offers investment services.

BNC Bancorp knows the ABCs of the financial world. The firm is the holding company for Bank of North Carolina, which has about 20 locations in both North and South Carolina. The bank offers community-oriented services to local business and retail customers, providing checking, savings, and money market accounts, credit cards, and CDs. Its loan portfolio is mainly composed of residential and commercial mortgages and construction loans. Bank of North Carolina also offers insurance, retirement planning, and other investment products and services. In 2010 BNC Bancorp acquired the failed Beach First National Bank in an FDIC-assisted transaction, expanding Bank of North Carolina's branch network into South Carolina.

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