The same uncertainties about the economy, capital rules and other matters that are slowing deal activity could ultimately prod sellers to give in. The question is when.

Tax-preparation company H&R Block, Inc. said this week that it did not have a "compelling reason" to offer refund anticipation loans during the upcoming 2012 tax season — but the decision was out of its hands. Federal banking regulators last year effectively killed H&R Block's tax refund loan business.

Opus Bank, Irvine, Calif., hired Michael L. Allison as chief credit officer and executive vice president.

Continuing a wave of consolidation among California community banks, AltaPacific Bancorp in Santa Rosa said late Wednesday that it is buying Stellar Business Bank in Covina for $17.4 million in stock.

S&T Bancorp in Indiana, Pa., announced late Wednesday that it is buying Mainline Bancorp Inc. in Ebensburg, Pa., for roughly $21.5 million in cash and stock.

The board of the payments technology vendor Fundtech plans to halt its intended merger with S1 after receiving a separate offer from the private equity firm GTCR.

Employment in the mortgage industry continued to grind down in recent months, and the current revival in loan volume appears likely to produce a modest reversal in the trend at most.

Led by energy, and bolstered by a diversifying economy, the Texas metropolis is drawing a wave of new banks to vie with the city's incumbents.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Labor said Wednesday it ordered Bank of America Corp. to pay $930,000 to an employee improperly fired in a whistleblower case.

Capital One Financial Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Fairbank says he believes the credit card business is headed for significant consolidation and that his company intends to be one of the industry's "endgame players."

American Banker editors discuss accusations that big banks wrongfully received $6 billion in mortgage insurance premiums.

Massive consolidation is inevitable, say the pundits, but the heads of prospective buyers say they can wait out reluctant sellers and the uncertain economy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing a regulatory exemption for mortgage real-estate investment trusts. If the SEC decides to lift the exemption, mortgage REITs could become unprofitable, and an important source of liquidity for the housing market could dry up, analysts say.

The American Bankers Association is calling on the Treasury Department to provide more details about rejected applications for the Small Business Lending Fund.

The clock is running down on investors looking to sue the nation's biggest banks over now-soured mortgage-backed securities.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to close its temporary suburban Chicago office next September, nine months earlier than expected.

John Koelmel, head of fast-growing First Niagara, found himself literally and figuratively in the middle of the jobs debate.

After several weeks of application declines, it appears that low interest rates are finally causing an increase in new business.

An interview last week with Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Tom Hoenig yielded more than we could fit into our story on his plan to tighten up the federal safety net. Here's what else was on the regulator's mind.

After 38 years with the Fed, Tom Hoenig is convinced less complexity is the key to taming systemic risk.