Freddie Mac will pay $4.4 billion to the Treasury Department after continued housing-market improvements allowed the company to post a seventh consecutive profitable quarter.

HOUSTON – Cardtronics said this morning it has continued its acquisitions spree with a deal to acquire Cardpoint Limited, an operator of 7,100 ATMs in the U.K. and Germany for $153 million cash, representing the ATM giant’s first foray into Continental Europe.

The Lamassu machine, a so-called Bitcoin ATM, is a rare device that makes it possible for the unbanked to obtain digital currency. It was invented by a pair of guitar-store proprietors who wanted to break into the payments industry — and are prepared to face the music when regulators take notice.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – U.S. New Mexico FCU has acquired a former Bank of America drive-thru branch in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Pentagon FCU had a grand opening for its new branch here yesterday that featured a proclamation from Gov. Bill Haslam, read by state Sen. Mark Green, plus a ribbon-cutting, open house and official welcomes from the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.

Sterling Bank in Spokane, Wash. will allow customers to transfer money to and from accounts at other financial institutions for free.

Sussex Bancorp (SSBX) in Franklin, N.J., has completed a $7.2 million capital raise.

Carlile Bancshares plans to merge and rename its two Colorado banking units.

President Obama ended his administration's self-imposed blackout regarding housing finance reform on Tuesday, finally endorsing a specific approach after effectively punting on the issue more than two years ago.

New York state is asking more than 100 banks to choke off access to the automated payments system that unlicensed online lenders use to debit the checking accounts of consumers.

A former chairman of the failed Premier Bank in Wilmette, Ill., has been charged with fraud in what prosecutors say is the first criminal case tied to the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Large banks approved more small-business loans in July than they have in any month since before the recession.

Bank of America was sued by the Justice Department over allegations that it lied to investors about the riskiness of the loans backing a 2008 mortgage deal.

Are banks destined to become trusted repositories for personal information as some pundits predict or is the notion utter nonsense? That was one hot topic of conversation during a recent Twitter Chat hosted by American Banker on the future of banking. The publication's BankThink editors discuss.

WINCHESTER, Va. – Navy FCU opened a second building at its member service center here, a short distance from its Vienna, Va., headquarters, where it plans to add as many as another 450 jobs.

Bitcoin fanatics and skeptics met under the same roof at a recent event in New York. Now that the digital currency is recognized under guidance from Fincen and bitcoin users established a self-regulating organization, entrepreneurs and payments-industry veterans are finding some common ground.

Zions Bancorp. (ZION) in Salt Lake City plans to issue as much as $195 million in debt through its online broker-dealer subsidiary.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the second-largest U.S. lender, told Pennsylvania regulators that it will cut 209 jobs from a unit servicing troubled mortgages.