The Government National Mortgage Association is making it easier for MBS issuers to pledge their servicing rights to obtain financing from warehouse lenders.

United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga., said it will record a special loan-loss provision of $25 million for the third quarter due to concerns over collateral associated with its largest loan relationship.

Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, said Tuesday that it had found a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting, tied to its use of a third-party contractor.

Park Bancorp Inc. in Chicago said Tuesday that it had hired an investment bank to help it explore its strategic options, including a possible sale.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is open for business, of course, but it still promises to be awhile before the collection industry gets a clear idea of how the regulatory agency intends to oversee it.

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PHOENIX – TruWest CU on Tuesday said it is replacing its fleet of 30 ATMs with NCR SelfServ 32, 34 and 38 deposit-taking models.

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AppraiserLoft, the troubled appraisal management company, has suspended all new business and is preparing to shut down.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares Inc., the parent of Lake Sunapee Bank, is entering the insurance business with its buy of McCrillis and Eldredge Insurance.

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Home mortgage lending will likely fall 25% next year to its lowest level since the late 1990s as the economic slump keeps demand low and banks begin running out of qualified borrowers to refinance, the Mortgage Bankers Association forecast Tuesday.

Three former United Commercial Bank executives misled investors by concealing at least $65 million in loan losses before the San Francisco-based lender collapsed in 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Through a deal with money-transfer company UniTeller, Wells Fargo & Co. is expanding its remittance network by adding access points in Latin America and Asia, in an attempt to gain more money-transfer business from former Wachovia Corp. customers.

First Financial Corp.'s willingness to pay nearly double the tangible book value for Freestar Bank outside of Chicago is the most expensive small bank deal in months.

Banks must properly define and reward risk management in the future, rather than keep it segmented as they often do today. So advised a roundtable of experts asked by American Banker to gaze into the future as part of the celebration of our 175th anniversary.

No matter how rewarding a credit card is, redeeming points is typically a clunky processs. To date, the lone island of simplicity in this sea of confusion has been with JPMorgan Chase and American Express, which allow cardholders to use points as easily as dollars when shopping on Amazon.com. Now, Discover is joining the movement.

Gibraltar Private Bank and Trust Co. in Coral Gables, Fla., has added to its wealth management division by hiring two employees with ties to Lydian Private Bank, which was closed by regulators in August.

Banks are already in the thrall of a new business model even worse than the utility one: the industry is frozen solid in fear both of relentless credit risk and remorseless regulatory requirements.

At the BAI Retail Delivery Conference, executives at Extraco Banks in Temple, Texas share how using cash recyclers, modern teller software, check imaging and "intelligent" ATMs is improving customer service and branch efficiency.