DBA International announced Wednesday it is accepting applications from collection law firms and third-party collection agencies that wish to earn the association's professional certification designation.

Nearly 800,000 Home Equity Lines of Credit were originated nationwide in a recent 12-month period, the highest mark since the 12 months ending June 2009, according to a new report.

Wells Fargo will pay up to $5 million to resolve allegations it discriminated against mothers on maternity leave, the largest settlement of such claims ever reached by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Pennsylvania-based collection agency Commonwealth Financial Systems Inc. owes more than $2 million to the state's Department of Revenue.

Community West Bancshares in Goleta, Calif., is continuing to find ways to buy back stock it issued through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bankers should temper their criticism of new regulations with some support for reform, lest the American public think the industry has failed to heed the lessons of the financial crisis.

Veritex Holdings in Dallas could sell up to $40.4 million of its common stock as part of its initial public offering.

NewBridge Bancorp in Greensboro, N.C., has agreed to buy Premier Commercial Bank in Greensboro.

UBS AG is tightening its rules on how employees can trade securities for personal accounts, telling staffers it wants to prevent potential abuses.

Heritage Commerce in San Jose, Calif., has agreed to buy the parent company of factoring firm Bay View Funding in Santa Clara, Calif.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is raising questions about the policies and data banks use to vet consumers before allowing them to open a checking account.

Banks have ceded market share to business-development companies, hedge funds and others when it comes to loans to midsize companies. Unless banks strengthen cross-selling techniques and embrace technology soon, then competition, Basel III and other forces will eat into their profits.

In a piece on The Clearing House website, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said the culture fostered by top executives can have more to do with creating problems at banks than individual bad decisions.

The Salt Lake City bank has formalized programs to help employees who are in the reserves or have active-duty spouses and children deployed far from home. Its efforts range from raising funds for a family with a severely injured son, to hiring a landscaping firm to mow the lawn of an employee in need.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has issued an unpublished opinion in Lynn v. Monarch Recovery Management Inc. that supports a ruling that the agency violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Prosperity thought it had its bases covered, adding a clause in an employment agreement with lenders at an acquired bank in Oklahoma establishing Texas law as the jurisdiction for the contract. A judge disagreed in a decision that should get the attention of banks eyeing out-of-state deals.

Everything is on the table — including the table — as banks accelerate their efforts to trim real estate costs. Options range from subleasing branches that are too large to finding professional investors who will buy the branches and lease back a portion of them.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) hired senior bankers from Rothschild and Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) for its investment banking business in the Middle East.

The Mortgage Bankers Association continues to push back against regulations stemming from the financial crisis, as the industry's biggest lobbying group continues pushing for regulatory relief to bolster the housing market — and boost profits for its members.

AT&T Mobility LLC will pay $105 million to settle multi-agency charges it illegally billed third-party charges to consumers nationwide, federal authorities announced Wednesday.