Alan Kline

Continuing in its quest to reinvent itself as a specialty-finance lender, TCF Financial Corp. of Wayzata, Minn., has launched a new division that will specialize in asset-based and cash-flow lending to smaller middle-market companies across the U.S.

The Ohio treasurer's office intends to fire Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and State Street Corp. as the custodians of state-run pension funds because it suspects the banks have been overcharging two of the funds on foreign-currency transactions.

In what would be the first acquisition in its 50-year history, Peoples State Bank in Wausau, Wis., is planning to buy the $108 million-asset Marathon State Bank in nearby Marathon City for $5.6 million.

Coming off its fourth-straight money-losing year, United Bank of Philadelphia is under orders from state and federal regulators to clean up its loan portfolio, improve its capital ratios and submit to regulators a detailed plan for returning to profitability.

Senate Democrats plan to introduce to an amendment to a new jobs bill that would extend the charter of the Export-Import Bank for another four years and raise the bank's lending limit by 40%, to $140 billion.

A trade group representing bank boards says directors have become "overwhelmed" by rules and regulations and is urging banking agencies and Congress to quickly take steps to ease their burden.

Despite strong asset and deposit growth, First PacTrust Bancorp Inc. swung to a loss in the fourth quarter as the Irvine, Calif., company sharply increased its loan-loss provision to reflect both a surge in total loans and an increase in impaired loans.

Zions Bancorporation and Regions Financial Corp. were the biggest winners among bank stocks Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave the two regional companies the go-ahead to finally repay the the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Two small Massachusetts mutual thrifts are planning to join forces in hopes of gaining the scale to better compete against larger banks.

Several regional banks that were also stress-tested by the Federal Reserve but whose results were not made public announced that they have passed their tests. Some, including Comerica, Huntington and Discover, plan to free up trapped capital.

Two small Kansas banks that have been discussing a merger for much of the past year have finally pulled the trigger on a deal.

A Maryland real estate investment trust that invests in mortgage-backed securities is planning to raise up to $1.8 billion in a stock sale.

In what would be its largest acquisition in more 15 years, UnionBanCal Corp. in San Francisco is buying Pacific Capital Corp. in Santa Barbara, Calif., for about $1.5 billion in cash.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. intends to open as many 60 branches and will substantially increase its sales force this year as it looks to strengthen its presence in the Southeast and take advantage of market disruption to add new clients throughout its 15-state footprint.

Buoyed by strong top-line revenue growth and improved asset quality, the $1.2 billion-asset First Business Financial Services in Madison, Wis., reported record profits in 2011.

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday released details on steps three more mortgage servicers are taking to correct deficiencies in their foreclosure practices.

First Citizens BancShares Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., reported only modest earnings growth in 2011 as income gains from failed-bank acquisitions were largely offset by higher loss provisions related to loans it inherited in those deals.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has filed a lawsuit against former officers and directors of Broadway Bank in connection with the bank's collapse two years ago.

Building on its landmark partnership with the Ohio State University, Huntington Bancshares Inc. is launching a new service on campus this week that will allow students to access their bank accounts with their school identification cards.

In what could turn out to be a victory for several banks, a New York judge has thrown out a case against TD Bank in which depositors had accused the bank of unlawfully freezing their accounts.