Victoria Finkle

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase reclassified many second mortgages as delinquent, even though they are current, because the first mortgages to which they are subordinate have already gone delinquent.

John Mack, who stepped down as Morgan Stanley CEO last year, has joined the board of Lending Club, an online lending platform.

William Lansing, who abruptly took over FICO in January, is trying to move the company beyond its embattled credit-score business.

Overdraft fees are drawing increased regulatory and legal scrutiny, but they can still pack a punch. Just ask Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) accountholder Stu Straus, who mysteriously racked up $1,555.61 in overdraft fees.

Delinquency rates in the fourth quarter of 2011 fell across all loan categories the trade group monitors, including credit cards, auto and home loans, the American Bankers Association reported on Thursday.

An April Fool's Day blog post by Movenbank founder Brett King poked fun at traditional banks, which have increasingly tried to lure customers to their branches with coffee, yoga classes and other untraditional perks.

U.S. Bancorp is pulling out of the private student loans market, as banking regulators step up their scrutiny of the products. JPMorgan Chase is also cutting back on student lending.

Core Innovation Capital, an arm of a nonprofit aimed at helping the unbanked, will devote the $45 million it raised to investments in startup financial services companies. It already has put money into SavvyMoney and Plastyc.

Regions Financial has finished unveiling a suite of alternative financial services, including check-cashing, money transfer and expedited bill pay services, along with a prepaid card.

No one can ever accuse Steve Huston of being a heartless banker. Huston, the owner of Bankwest Financial in Rockford, Minn., resuscitated Dr. Frank Anderson during a pickup basketball game in January, a local Fox News affiliate reported last week.

James Gutierrez, founder of micro-lender Progreso Financiero, is leaving the company to start a new firm that will offer cloud-based payments for the unbanked, he told American Banker.

Discover Financial Services' Pulse debit network posted solid gains in the first quarter, but executives say a new rule banning network exclusivity could prove a hurdle going forward.

The Treasury Department has hired Melissa Koide, vice president of policy for the non-profit Center for Financial Services Innovation, which focuses on providing expanding the availability of financial services.

Over the last week Bank of America angered the groupies of Francesca Lia Block, a prolific young-adult author who wants to modify the loan on her L.A. home — and took more heat for the guy it killed (on paper).

Discover Financial Services is partnering with the operator of Puerto Rico's ATM and debit network, as part of its ongoing efforts to increase acceptance abroad by teaming up with local networks.

American Express Co. is partnering with Office Depot Inc. to offer its prepaid cards at some office supply stores across the country.

Like U.S. Bancorp, Regions Financial Inc., BB&T Corp. and others, Citizens Republic has introduced a prepaid card and is expanding its line of alternative financial products used by underbanked consumers.

Critics say branches are expensive and losing customers, but bankers this week rallied in defense of their brick-and-mortar locations, even as they acknowledged that branches are losing some ground to mobile and online banking.

The next generation of consumers may forgo outdated tools like a computer mouse — a move that could have critical implications for bankers.

The majority of U.S. Bancorp customers have found ways to avoid paying monthly fees, after the bank phased out its "free" checking accounts, an executive told American Banker.