Laura Alix

Police arrested a man after responding to a hostage situation at a branch in Sebring, Fla., early Wednesday.

In selling its Walmart credit card portfolio to Capital One and extending a partnership with Sam’s Club that appeared to be in peril, Synchrony Financial avoids an expensive legal battle with the world’s largest retailer.

CEO Greg Carmichael says the Cincinnati bank will hire bankers in Denver, Dallas and Houston as part of a broader expansion into fast-growing markets that are home to lots of midsize firms. It is also interested in buying more fee-based businesses.

The acquisition of VAR Technology Finance bolsters the bank's efforts to expand into new areas of lending.

The online platform, created by Laurel Road Bank in 2013, allows users to refinance student loans and originate mortgages.

The nation’s fifth-largest bank now has the financial flexibility to consolidate more branches in existing markets and open new, smaller ones in cities where it has no retail presence, CEO Andy Cecere said.

Emily Vaughan Alexanderson will lead a group focused on education, nonprofit, technology and life sciences clients.

The San Francisco company's quarterly earnings also reflected higher wealth management revenue.

Ambassador provides balance sheet management, investment banking and capital markets services to financial institutions.

The subprime online lender said Thursday that it will spin off its credit card business into a new entity, Mission Lane. It also named a new CEO to replace its founder, Sasha Orloff.