Two leading Democrats raises doubts over acting Acting Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Ed DeMarco's refusal to allow principal reductions for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Visa posted a 16.4% increase in fiscal first-quarter profit as the credit-card processor continued to benefit from consumers' increased use of plastic while grappling with new federal rules that affect debit-card purchases.

Discover Financial Services will invest $10 million over the next five years to pay for high school students to take personal finance courses.

The simmering battle between banks and credit unions is heating up again, as credit unions revive their push in Congress to allow their industry to make more small business loans.

Visa has launched a mobile banking product with Monitise, pitting the card network against major technology vendors.

With numerous attractive institutions and robust growth markets, the state could kickstart a round of traditional deals nationwide. The only problem? Texas bankers also know they're attractive, and the most comely banks aren't interested in low-priced dates.

Credit unions are an aggressive bunch. As if their heavy-handed push to expand into prohibited business lending wasn't enough, it now seems they are adding on another power grab to increase their ability to raise supplemental capital and support investors.

Shares of NASB Financial Inc. rose more than 6% Wednesday after the Grandview, Mo., thrift company said it earned $4.9 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $3 million in the the same period in 2010.

Bank of America Corp. is limiting the number of refinance applications it accepts over the phone, telling borrowers who do not have an existing relationship with the bank that they may have to wait 60 to 90 days before they can get their application processed.

Failure has been the most common way out of enforcement actions in the current cycle, but outcomes may be improving.

MasterCard, in an effort to improve merchant and consumer comfort with online spending, formed a partnership with Silver Tail to distribute the latter's fraud-fighting analytics to merchants.

Lakeland Bancorp Inc. in Oak Ridge, N.J., has paid off its remaining debt to Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Democrats and Republicans said Wednesday they would support a bill to ensure that certain information shared with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during exams is protected by attorney-client privilege.

Chino Commercial Bancorp in California has extended its stock offering for the second time because of a high level of interest.

NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it sold $6.2 billion in risky residential mortgage securities to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in its second bulk sale from a portfolio taken on during the 2008 bailout of American International Group.

HomeStreet Inc. in Seattle has hired more than 160 former MetLife Inc. mortgage professionals across three Pacific Northwest states.

Banks spend wastefully on information technology, leaving plenty of room for improvement, Oracle's Mark Hurd says.

In an improving economy, many of the policies and procedures that were imposed on banks in 2008 have become counterproductive, and are hurting rather than helping the industry.

Ally Financial's Residential Capital mortgage unit is in talks with potential buyers and is considering using a pre-packaged bankruptcy to facilitate a sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

A celebrity's name on a prepaid card has been more of a scarlet letter than a ticket to success. But celeb cards are still popular enough to be a threat to traditional banks.