THE small-town bank, a fading institution that's been written off as a victim of mergers, is making a comeback.

At the age of 25, he arranged to borrow enough money to buy a small-town bank.

They dress up like country folks and smack down small-town banks, state banks.

Their targets often included small-town banks or coach services.

But small-town banks have been troubled, too, in these difficult times, and threatened livelihoods breed caution.

He looked as if he worked in some small-town bank, not like someone on trial for kidnapping and murder.

Even many small-town banks in the middle of nowhere have ATMs.

And no one would bother with a small-town bank unless he had the bigger banks under his control as well.

His father, Garfield Browne, was a bank manager and later bank president of various small-town banks in the south.

No longer are small-town banks propped up by cheap deposits courtesy of the state.