IN case you missed on Thursday, Spokane's Sterling Financial Corp. had a good 4Q earnings report.

The company, which operates Sterling Savings Bank, announced it booked net income of $20.9 million, or 33 cents per diluted common share, compared to $30.6 million, or 49 cents per diluted common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, and $14.8 million or 24 cents per diluted common share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011.

For the year Sterling recorded net income of $385.7 million, or $6.14 per diluted common share, compared to $39.1 million, or 63 cents per diluted common share, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011.

The 2012 annual net income included an income tax benefit of $292 million associated with the release of a deferred tax asset valuation allowance.

Here are some other bullet points, borrowed from TheStreet.com:

• Portfolio loan originations for the quarter were $561.7 million, a 23 percent increase over the prior quarter.
• Income from mortgage banking operations for the year was $96.9 million, up 85 percent over 2011.
• Nonperforming assets to total assets was 2.28 percent, down from 2.73 percent at September 30, 2012, and 4.01 percent at December 31, 2011.
• A total of $40.4 million, or 65 cents per share, was returned to shareholders during the fourth quarter of 2012 through payment of a 15 cent per share regular dividend, a 35 cents per share special dividend and the accelerated payment of the 15 cents regular dividend that would have otherwise been paid during the first quarter of 2013.
• During the fourth quarter, Sterling announced the signing of definitive agreements to acquire American Heritage Holdings and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Borrego Springs Bank of California.

The discrimation lawsuit filed by former Sterling Bank CEO Heidi Stanley remains active in Spokane's County Superior Court.  Stanley is suing her former employer for wrongful termination, saying she lost her job after being diagnosed with breast cancer in spring 2009.

Sterling officials say the illness has nothing to do with Stanley leaving the company.

That departure or dismissal occurred right in the middle of Sterling's efforts to dig out of a deep financial pit. It ended up taking a huge investment through the TARP  (troubled assets relief program).

The recent legal development worth noting is a U.S. District Court ruling against Sterling, who had made a motion to dismiss the suit, arguing that the bank could not provide Stanley any compensation for her departure because of conditions imposed by virtue of the TARP money Sterling took from the feds.

But the court didn't buy the Sterling legal argument. The net result is that Stanley's wrongful termination suit can proceed.

Read to the next section to get a segment from the recent U.S. District Court ruling (the issue of TARP condition dragged this motion into federal court, while the termination action can be pursued at the state court level).

Two companies from Spokane and Tacoma have received Secretary of State Sam Reed's  most prestigious civics award for businesses in Washington state.

A former Sterling Savings Bank branch manager in Klamath Falls, Ore., has been barred from the banking industry.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued the order against Shannon Kuhlman last month.

Kuhlman allegedly engaged in unsound banking practices that will inflict, or probably inflict, significant losses on the Spokane bank. In doing so, she either acted dishonestly, the FDIC says, or in willful disregard of sound banking practices.

Kuhlman's actions make her unfit to work for a bank, or vote proxies in banks or other financial institutions, the FDIC order says, noting that she did not admit or deny any of the alleged behavior.

Sterling spokeswoman Cara Coon said the bank would have no comment, except to note Kuhlman lef the bank in 2008.

No additional information was available from the FDIC, or Washington Department of Financial Institutions.

Sterling, after taking major losses on real estate and construction lending, recapitalized last August. 

If you need to catch up on the long, stressful road Sterling Savings Bank followed to survive and not fall victim to the FDIC axe, the best chance comes on Tuesday at the next Executive Connect Breakfast.

To add just a bit more focus to the post below about Ezra Eckhardt speaking at the next Greater Spokane Inc. event, here's some more bio on the featured guest.

His resume notes that before joining Sterling Savings Bank, Eckhardt was also involved in managing the Spokane Valley Honeywell site.

Before that, his bio makes note that Eckhardt was a director on the Microsoft corporate strategic planning and analysis team. One more detail worth noting:  He's also a 1992 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The Association of Washington Business Tuesday recognized the volunteerism and community service efforts of 21 Washington companies, including five based in Eastern Washington.

The Spokane-area corporate winners were: Associated Industries, for its Bright Promise Scholarship program; PAML, for raising $339,527 for charities such as Shriners Hospital and the Make-a-Wish Foundation; Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc. of Pullman, for its work on behalf of United Way, the Corporate Angels Program, and Haitian earthquake relief; and Sterling Savings Bank, for employee incentives that generated 24,000 volunteer hours in 2009.

Also, State Rep. Susan Fagan, R-Pullman, received the Judy Coovert Award for her work on the AWB Health Care Committee.

AWB President Don Brunell said the winners sustained their charitable work during a deep recession.

“Giving back is integral to who they are and what they do. It’s part of how they do business,” he said.

PAML also received one of 10 AWB Environmental Excellence Awards for upkeep and updating of its 162-vehicle fleet, and implementation of route-mapping software. Coupled with handheld devices for couriers, PAML has reduced travel by 1.5 million miles, or 30 percent.