WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved Capital One Financial Corp.'s acquisition of HSBC Bank USA's credit card portfolio.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. intends to open as many 60 branches and will substantially increase its sales force this year as it looks to strengthen its presence in the Southeast and take advantage of market disruption to add new clients throughout its 15-state footprint.

Freddie Mac reported a 16% increase in short sales last year and wants to boost the use of this foreclosure alternative by increasing the fees it pays participating servicers.

Mortgage companies cut 3,200 full-time employees from their payrolls in January, according to government figures released Friday morning.

Freddie Mac posted net "comprehensive" earnings $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter, but must turn around and pay the U.S. Treasury a $1.7 billion dividend, which means it ultimately lost money during the period.

Prices fell and the pace of dealmaking slowed last month, but March started off strong with another big deal in Texas.

Richard Hendrix, the president and CEO of FBR & Co., says that earnings and price expectations must "reset" for capital to come back to banks. In a wide-ranging Q&A, he discussed bankers' reluctant to tap capital markets and his belief that it could take time before a meaningful level of IPOs take place.

To create a mobile banking offering that can compete with banks or the likes of Google, the prepaid card marketer Green Dot is purchasing the location-based deals company Loopt.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has ended a formal agreement with City National Bank of Florida.

Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnati has laid off an unspecified number of employees as part of an ongoing effort to control expenses.

Buoyed by strong top-line revenue growth and improved asset quality, the $1.2 billion-asset First Business Financial Services in Madison, Wis., reported record profits in 2011.

Banks including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Capital One are cashing in on the rebound in car sales, as their auto lending arms search for ways to boost still-sluggish consumer loans.

The prepaid card marketer Green Dot said Friday that it agreed to buy the location-based deals company Loopt.

More than 200,000 financially strapped households will have a chance to sharply reduce their mortgage balances under a side deal negotiated by Bank of America that could allow the bank to avoid as much as $850 million in penalties.

Suddenly, it seems like almost everyone is offering a mobile wallet. Major issuers, telco consortiums, search engines and other third-party intermediaries are clamoring for attention.

Three years ago, the Seattle bank was struggling mightily with bad loans and diminishing capital. A recently completed IPO put $96 million back into the bank, putting it on the path to recovery.

Citigroup Inc. has nominated a healthcare industry veteran and a former American Express Co. executive to be independent directors on its board.

The U.S. is already lagging other countries in its conversion to a secure chip-card format. And if Canada is any example, the U.S. may continue to lag despite the aggressive deadlines set by the card networks.

It’s "insane" that some lenders still use carbon paper, Andrew WeissMalik of On The Go Technology says.

A year and a half after completing its recapitalization, Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane, Wash., has been released from an enforcement order with the Federal Reserve Board.