The war over interchange between merchants and the payments industry continues. That's not surprising with tens of billions of dollars being allocated by Washington rather than the market in question.

NCUA has cleared the acquisition by United FCU of Griffith Savings Bank, the first purchase of a bank by a federally chartered credit union, and the deal now awaits approval by the FDIC.

Small but profitable Wedbush Bank, a sister company of Wedbush Securities, is the rare example of a thriving bank linked to a brokerage firm. Now the bank is looking to expand by scouting for an acquisition along the West Coast.

Banks looking to tune up their public image these days could take a lesson from Ray Jay.

Greystone Bank in Raleigh, N.C., is one small loan away from a rare voluntary liquidation.

The prepaid card company's plans to buy a bank will bring it into even closer competition with traditional rivals.

GMAC Mortgage said that it will stop purchasing new mortgage loans in Massachusetts, a day after the state's attorney general sued its parent company for alleged misconduct regarding foreclosures.

Consumers receiving unemployment benefits on a Bank of America Corp. prepaid debit card in California are alerting state officials about a telephone phishing scam intended to elicit personal information.

The NCUA approved a serices of mergers for billion-dollar-plus credit unions, which are gobbling up smaller troubled institutions at an accelerating pace.

A dissident shareholder's bid to win a seat on the board of HF Financial Corp. received a boost Friday after an independent advisory firm endorsed his candidacy.

Outspoken mobile payments executive, originally from PayPal, has left the banking world for mobile coupon company.

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.