Veteran bank analyst Dick Bove responded to an American Banker article about Wal-Mart's financial services with a characteristically blunt retort.

CommunityBank of Texas has appointed a longtime Houston banker as its president.

Lightweight phone-based merchant terminal being tested in New York, San Francisco, Dallas and Chicago.

Bank of America Corp.'s head of online banking is defecting to rival JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ed Willingham, president of the North Carolina company, was elected a director of the Richmond Fed.

The Maryland bank is to serve as escrow agent for $618 million from a legal settlement between Native American farmers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The lawsuit alleged discrimination against Indian farmers in obtaining agricultural loans.

Freed from an enforcement order that had restricted its growth, Royal Bancshares Inc. in Narberth, Pa., has brought in a seasoned veteran to lead its expansion in small-business lending.

Hampden Bancorp Inc. in Springfield, Mass., has promoted its business banking executive to become president and chief operating officer.

Two regulators-turned-consultants, invoking a famous Ronald Reagan quote, are really "here to help" this time.

The tough new Basel 3 capital rules combined with slowing consumer loan growth have prompted a strategic shift in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's approach to its mortgage business.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati has appointed a Humana Inc. executive to its board.

Toronto-Dominion Bank and TCF Financial Corp. said Thursday they had completed separate acquisition deals — TD for almost all of MBNA Canada's credit card portfolio, TCF for auto lender Gateway One.

Sheshunoff & Co. has devised a three-part quiz to determine if a troubled bank offers a good bargain or is too risky to purchase.

A recent American Banker online survey asked what to do about unprofitable customers. Most responders said that bankers must be more "creative" and find profitable ways to keep these customers.

Bank of America Corp.'s relatively new wealth-management unit for mass-affluent consumers is on target to meet growth goals, despite recent shakeups at the company's broader retail bank.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley on Thursday sued five national mortgage lenders — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial — alleging their foreclosure practices were unlawful and deceptive.

Analysts debate the benefits of getting into wealth management and insurance vs. sticking to traditional lending.

The names of 18 former CapitalBank branches in South Carolina have been changed to Park Sterling Bank.

Union First Market Bankshares Corp. in Richmond, Va., said Thursday that it will redeem preferred stock issued to the Treasury Department as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.