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.

BBCN Bancorp, the Los Angeles company formed after Center Financial and Nara Bancorp merged, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter earnings fell 42% from the same period a year earlier due primarily to expenses related to the merger.

Mortgage lender PHH has been scrambling to reassure investors of its funding and cash positions in the wake of an S&P downgrade and the departure of its former CEO, Jerome Selitto.

Citigroup is partnering with the Enterprise Community Loan Fund and Next Street Financial to invest $30 million in small businesses.

More than eight months after Sterne Agee Group Inc. announced that it is planning to acquire a community bank, the name of the bank has finally been revealed: Citizens Exchange Bank.

MasterCard Inc. and software company Silver Tail Systems Inc. announced a partnership that will bring the latter's fraud-fighting analytics to MasterCard merchants.