Cheviot Financial in Cheviot, Ohio, said Tuesday that it had received regulatory approval for a stock offering tied to its mutual holding company's proposed mutual-to-stock conversion.

Webster Financial Corp. had about as much luck as the big banks in staying ahead of the curve on debit card fees.

It might not be well-reasoned; it might not always be civil; and it might not be fair. But the Occupy Wall Street movement, with its anti-finance bias, is with us and it is real. And unless the economy improves, or some other dramatic event occurs that at the moment seems remote, the reality is that banks are stuck for now in a reputational backwater.

The U.S. Treasury is looking beyond the insured banking system in an effort to improve the delivery of viable credit alternatives to consumers.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received a clean bill of health from the Government Accountability Office in its first annual report of the bureau's finances.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac late Tuesday afternoon released a somewhat detailed bulletin on the underwriting guidelines for refinancing underwater borrowers with GSE loans, segmenting what's allowable based on the loan-to-value (LTV) and if the product is being offered by the current servicer.

NBH Holdings Corp. in Boston is the latest bank roll-up group to file for an initial public offering so that its stock can be traded on the open markets.

With a renewed appetite to expand lending, big banks are said to be actively courting borrowers much smaller than their typical midmarket clients. The banks are wooing potential clients with very competitive rates and loan structures, much to the concern of smaller banks.

A bill by Rep. Spencer Bachus passed overwhelmingly in the House Financial Services Committee to cap senior executives pay at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

American Express and Target are officially launching a prepaid card, in the credit card company's latest effort to expand its prepaid operations. The deal also bulks up Target's financial offerings without requiring the Minneapolis retailer to recommit to its existing bank operations.

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sunmark FCU said it has joined the Universal Sharing Network, the shared branch network in New York.

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc. in Narberth said Tuesday that regulators had terminated its July 2009 consent order.

Skip Hageboeck, CEO of City Holding Co., has a clear idea where he wants to go (the I-81 corridor that runs through Virginia) and where he doesn't (the District of Columbia). His pace is slow, one deal every six years, but he's fine with that.

Despite falling house prices and rising claims, the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance fund clung to a slim capital ratio of 0.24% on its book-of-business for the year ending Sept. 30.

County and state officials are turning up the heat on MERS, as recent lawsuits filed in Michigan, Florida, Delaware and Texas challenge the validity and accuracy of the mortgage industry-controlled loan registry.

The company's post-BankAtlantic strategy became clearer this week. It is buying a Florida company that serves the vacation and retirement crowd.

Mercantile Bancorp Inc. in Quincy, Ill., notified the NYSE Amex that it intends to voluntarily delist its common stock.

Hanmi Financial said it is planning to sell 87.5 million common stock shares at 80 cents a share, using a "substantial portion" of the funds to provide capital to its banking unit and to support growth.