An independent audit found that the Federal Housing Administration's capital reserve ratio fell into negative territory, meaning the agency may need a bailout from the Treasury Department for the first time in its 78-year history.

The $1.1 billion-asset parent company of First Federal Savings Bank said late Thursday that First Security Bank of Owensboro has terminated a deal to buy four First Federal branches in Louisville.

If regulators continue to sting banks with overzealous enforcement actions and ill-conceived policies, they, like the scorpion in Aesop's fable, could find themselves up the creek without a frog or paddle.

Republic Bancorp (RBCAA) of Louisville, Ky., and FedFirst Financial Corp. (FFCO) of Monessen, Pa., are planning to return more of their capital to shareholders as the fiscal cliff looms.

The Senate late Thursday confirmed the top two senior officials to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. following months of uncertainty.

First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG) is expanding its mortgage operations. The Buffalo, N.Y., company is scheduled to open a processing center next month in Syracuse and hire more than two dozen employees to staff it.

First Mariner Bancorp said it had called off plans to sell a minority stake in itself to Priam Capital Fund I after determining that it could improve its capital levels with retained earnings.

Sandy is likely to roil delinquencies in the next month or so, but issuers posted another round of strong reports for October.

Bankers may have fallen out of love with the Obama administration, but they're still hoping that its next Treasury Secretary will solve some of their problems.

Crescent Financial's updated SEC filing removes previous discussion about how banking regulators "encouraged" its deal with VantageSouth.

The move should improve liquidity for the $1.3 billion-asset Chemung's shares, Ronald M. Bentley, Chemung's president and chief executive, said in a news release Wednesday.

Foreclosure filings ticked up in October compared with the previous month but continued to decline on an annual basis, underscoring the fitful nature of the housing recovery.

Capitol Bancorp (CBCRQ) has been fighting for survival for a few years now, but the next month might prove to be its toughest battle.

Former Amcore president Donald Wilson will become the chairman of Community Financial in Illinois as part of a recapitalization plan.

A lawsuit by an American man who sought to hold Arab Bank responsible for injuries he sustained in a sniper attack in Israel cannot go forward, a federal judge in Brooklyn has ruled.

With construction activity, sales, and home prices still well below pre-crisis levels, a revival of U.S. housing sector "still faces significant challenges and the benefits remain quite uneven," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

The National Advertising Division is charged with sorting fact from fiction in ads touting credit card rewards.

Al Landon, a former CEO of Bank of Hawaii, now spends a lot of his time advising institutions that neither make loans, nor seek to make a profit-the Smithsonian Institution and PBS. Teaching, running marathons and investing are also on his agenda.

Although rumors abound that reserves in the Federal Housing Administration's capital cushion may turn negative sometime next year, delinquencies on government-backed loans — including those in the 90-day plus category — fell in the third quarter, according to brand new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The lender said it has committed $500 million to refinance underwater borrowers and has fulfilled its obligation to provide relief in Florida and California.