Reforms to Harp will remove several barriers that kept underwater homeowners from refinancing their mortgages, but analysts disagree on what kind of effect that will have on the housing market and the economy.

Rep. Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican who chairs the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, plans to unveil a comprehensive bill to reform the secondary mortgage market on Thursday.

Second-guessers are "short-term" thinkers who underestimate the long-term value of the customer relationships the deposits bring, CEO John Stumpf says.

Piedmont Community Bank Holdings Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., said Monday that it received regulatory approval to buy a majority stake in Crescent Financial Corp. for $75 million.

Enterprise Bancorp Inc. in Lowell, Mass., posted third-quarter earnings of $2.9 million, up almost 8% year over year, due to strong loan growth.

FNB United Corp. has completed its acquisition of Bank of Granite Corp., part of the unprecedented merger of two ailing banks in North Carolina.

Fred Joseph, Colorado's banking commissioner, said Community Banks of Colorado should have been able to sell its branches in a bid for more time to resolve its problems. But the FDIC and the Fed overruled him — and then failed the bank.

Wal-Mart Stores has joined the list of national retailers that sell Square's device that turns smartphones into mobile card readers.

Weemba, a new online provider that connects borrowers with lenders, reported Monday that loan listings relating to health-care expenses made up more than half of its requests so far.

WASHINGTON - The credit union industry has been lobbying the powerful congressional committee charged with reducing the deficit, seeking to ensure that credit unions preserve their tax-exempt status.

Bank of America's latest management shake-up is all about increasing "customer share," says home loan sales exec Matthew Vernon. It wants to capture more of the 86% of B of A clients who go elsewhere for mortgages. Sound familiar?

Lenders loosened terms on commercial mortgages originated to be packaged into bonds during the third quarter as sales of the securities surged, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Bank of Hawaii Corp. in Honolulu posted third-quarter earnings of 92 cents a share, nine cents more than the average expectation of analysts.

Anchor Bancorp's losses widened in the third quarter, though the Lacey, Wash.-based company shrunk its nonperforming assets.

Metro Bancorp Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa., posted a third-quarter loss of $5.7 million due to increases in the loan loss provision and chargeoffs.

Despite economic gloom, a number of industries are poised for success, according to IBISWorld research. Here is a sampling of industries projected to produce solid growth over the next five years.

Tagattitude's TagPay uses sound waves to securely transmit payment information without the need for a near-field communication chip. The French company's sound-based system generates dynamic data that is unique to each transaction.

Arizona regulators this week seized control of the troubled mortgage insurance division of PMI Group, Walnut Creek, Calif., according to a notice posted on the company's website.

The Federal Reserve usurps authority usually held by state regulators and fails a Colorado bank.

Mark Conner, former president of FirstCity Bank of Stockbridge, Ga., pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and perjury, according to the Justice Department Friday. FirstCity Bank was closed in March 2009.