Wells Fargo hired Dr. Ronald Leopold from MetLife to oversee a medical-benefits push as the largest U.S. home lender expands amid President Obama's health-care overhaul.

Banks in the Southeast are continuing to shrink their loan portfolios as they grapple with past miscues.

Southern BancShares has agreed to acquire Heritage BancShares in Lucama, N.C., for cash and stock, the companies announced Friday. The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter.

Attendees at this year's American Bankers Association conference for community banks want to exude confidence but worries over proposed capital requirements still have them spooked.

The regulator has missed the deadline for adopting rules that would make it easier for firms to raise capital from individual investors.

Citigroup Inc. has entered an agreement to buy the Best Buy private-label card portfolio, which has about $7 billion in loans, from Capital One Financial Corp. Citi has also agreed to issue and manage new Best Buy-branded cards in the U.S.

F.N.B. Corp. (FNB) in Hermitage, Pa., will enter Cleveland after agreeing to buy PVF Capital (PVFC) for roughly $106 million, or $3.98 a share, in stock.

Ally Bank is selling a mortgage business to Walter Investment Management.

Many banks have marketing savvy, but few effectively convert prospects into good customers. Gather sample data tracking your new-prospect encounters to see where and how you fail. Survival requires selling.

Summit CU has opened what it is calling an "Inspiration Branch".

Revisiting the way banks, credit unions and nonbank lenders operate (and collaborate) will offer choices, protections and a path to greater financial security.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has closed the $58.4 million-asset Covenant Bank on Chicago's West Side.

Lorraine Miller, MidSouth Bancorp's director of mergers and acquisitions, has added the role of treasurer, but the company says her new duties are not a signal it would stop hunting for deals.

Salisbury Bancorp (SAL) in Lakeville, Conn., said Friday that its chief financial officer is stepping down.

JPMorgan Chase's website suffered outages for a few hours on Friday. The nation's biggest bank by assets says it is researching the cause.

A Maryland legislator has introduced a bill that would open the way for the creation of a state-run bank.

PremierWest shareholders are scheduled to vote Tuesday on its proposed sale to the holding company of AmericanWest Bank. At 43% of tangible book value, some of them might be reluctant.

The arrangement is designed to give the bank some high-level mortgage expertise, but some industry observers have raised questions about the size of the $100,000 monthly fee.

The anonymous digital currency Bitcoin, which is already accepted on the Wordpress blogging site, has another mainstream partner. Reddit, the social news and entertainment site, now accepts bitcoins as payment for Reddit Gold, a subscription service.

Credit card delinquencies rose in January, but chargeoffs fell and portfolios appear likely to extend a streak of strong performance in the months ahead.