The chief executive of mortgage finance company Freddie Mac intends to step down within the next year after just over two years on the job, a federal housing regulator said Wednesday.

As hundreds of national banks disappear and community banks increasingly chose a state charter, policymakers must consider the impacts.

Merchants will dictate which mobile payment models become mainstream, attendees at a mobile commerce conference this week said.

Trustmark National Bank in Jackson, Miss., has set up a mortgage lending shop in Birmingham, Ala., to serve its growing retail and wholesale customer base in the state.

The acquisition of a failed bank in July gave Wintrust Financial Corp.'s earnings a strong boost in the third quarter.

Bankers beware. There are a number of industries that are expected to languish even when the U.S. economy starts to recover. As banks try to make loans and spread, these might be good ones to avoid. Economists at IBISWorld note that these industries carry considerable risk and the potential for shrinking revenue.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc. in Troy, Mich., reported a net loss of $14.2 million for the third quarter, a 37% improvement over the same period last year and its smallest quarterly loss since the start of the financial crisis three years ago.

A top political prognosticator said the Occupy Wall Street crowd has a long way to go before they evolve into a political movement on par with the Tea Party.

Hudson City Bancorp Inc.'s third-quarter profit declined more than 32% from the same period last year as historically low interest rates battered its investment portfolio.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced a written agreement with Border Capital Group Inc. in McAllen, Texas.

The deal for Anderen would be the largest open-bank transaction in Florida this year, but its price tag, as measure as a multiple of tangible book value, is much lower than those for comparable banks in other states.

First Midwest Bancorp Inc. in Itasca, Ill., said Wednesday that it had received approval from the Treasury Department to redeem $193 million in preferred stock issued in December 2008 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Buoyed by solid loan growth and strong gains in fee income, BOK Financial Corp. in Tulsa, Okla., reported a third-quarter profit of $85.1 million, up 32% from the same period last year.

The future of regional banks is simple: kill or be killed. The survivors will pose a threat to big banks, a roundtable of experts says in its predictions for banking in the year 2036

Nara Bancorp Inc. announced this week that it intends to raise $55 million in connection with its pending acquisition of Center Financial Corp. — a far cry from the $150 million it initially said it would need to seal the deal.

Fast-growing Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. in Pittsfield, Mass., is expanding into Connecticut with a deal to acquire the Connecticut Bank and Trust Co. in Hartford for $30 million in cash and stock.

Vikram Pandit accepted an award last week from nonprofit microlender Accion International, an organization with quite a few Citigroup ties.

CHICAGO – Southwest Chicago Chapter CU has signed with Credit Union Centers to become a member of the Indianapolis group’s shared branch network, which include 4,400 branches nationwide, including 275 in Illinois and Indiana.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – GHS FCU is building a new branch in nearby Norwich in the old Byrne Dairy building.

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