U.S. Bancorp has promoted longtime executive Elliot Jaffee to head its commercial banking division.

Ally, the former lending arm of General Motors, reported earnings of $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter after a $206 million loss a year earlier.

Favorable views of market conditions gained momentum at the end of the year as lawmakers reached a compromise to stave off the fiscal cliff.

Smaller banks are beginning to see more revenue from service charges as they experiment with new fees and products.

With the price of farmland surging, demand from small farmers for guaranteed mortgages is also way up. Now banks want Congress to raise the cap on those loans.

First Horizon National in Memphis, Tenn., has expanded its dealings in municipal bonds.

Community bankers should continue to bolster lending despite challenges created by compliance with a host of new Dodd-Frank regulations, Federal Reserve Gov. Elizabeth Duke said Tuesday.

U.S. financial institutions may see their reporting burdens rise as a result of a law designed to prevent taxpayers from hiding funds offshore.

Improving the branch experience could fail to increase foot traffic, but will boost customer satisfaction, loyalty and, ideally, advocacy.

The Treasury Department is planning to wind down its Troubled Asset Relief Program investments in six financial institutions by auctioning off approximately $358 million in preferred stock and subordinated debt investments.

An international crime ring created thousands of fake identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards and steal more than $200 million, the Justice Department said.

Woodforest National Bank in Woodlands, Texas, has promoted Julie Mayrant to president of its retail operations, according to a news report.

Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut has added Orville Aarons as a director. Aarons is president of O. Aarons & Co., an investment bank, and had been a chief lending officer at The Community's Bank.

Local merchants, especially those with credit card minimums, may find a small surcharge improves customer service. Alternately, all retailers should consider product-level surcharging, with fees only for high-cost cards.

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. – American Southwest CU held a grand opening for its expanded offices, a two-story addition to its original building, adding 14,000 square feet of new space.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Redevelopment funded in part by tax dollars will clean a significant chunk of pollution at an old gas station site where Traverse Bay Area CU is building a new headquarters.

Kind words by Stewart McClure, the head of Somerset Hills Bancorp, for Kevin Cummings, the CEO of rival Investors Bancorp, are part of a mutual admiration society budding in New Jersey banking.

Orrstown Financial Services (ORRF) reached a legal settlement with PL Capital over a requirement that the outside investor said wrongly benefited management.

Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty said Monday that a U.S. Bancorp unit is a lender to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a U.K.-based research facility that helps makers of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, cosmetics and other products assess the safety of their wares.

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