If the financial industry were made up of nursery rhymes, Wells Fargo would be Little Jack Horner and Bank of America would be regarded as Pinocchio.

Wells Fargo & Co.'s 29% jump in second quarter earnings reported earlier today overshadowed what at least on its face was a similarly impressive performance in an area that's something of a Holy Grail for commercial banks — cross-selling.

Elizabeth Warren has spent much of the past year arguing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not as scary as banks think. But as she steps aside, will that really be the case?

Isis, the wireless carrier-led mobile payments venture, said Tuesday that its contractual agreements with all major card networks allow it to attract more issuers to its mobile wallet.

Ginnie issuer status should fuel the lender's originations of FHA and VA loans, a major step in its evolution from a servicing side business at a hedge fund.

Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago has promoted Chief Financial Officer William L. Morrison to president and chief operating officer and has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch veteran Michael G. O'Grady to be the new CFO.

With loan demand still weak in most of its markets, Westamerica Bancorporation in San Rafael, Calif., said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit fell by nearly 10% from the same period last year, to $21.3 million.

Fremont Bank customers in northern California are about to find out how much faster and safer their debit cards can be.

By providing T24 on the Windows Azure platform, the two vendors are enabling local banks to offer services to people who live on less than $2 per day.

Floating loans to movie producers and rock stars may not be the banking industry's cure-all. But for a pair of banks, the entertainment business has provided a well-timed safe harbor.

The early read on M&A this earnings season: A weak economy and job market are putting a damper on deals, even as lending and revenue tick up.

Concerns over Bank of America Corp.'s capital levels took front and center during the bank's conference call with analysts discussing second-quarter results Tuesday.

Isis, the mobile carrier-led mobile payments venture that initially planned to compete against incumbent payment networks, now says it has formed relationships with them.

AmeriServ Financial Inc. in Johnstown, Pa., said that its second-quarter earnings increased by more than 300%, to $1.9 million, from the same period last year because it did not have to set aside any funds for loan losses.

Mercantile Bank reported second-quarter earnings of $2.4 million, compared to a reported loss of $700,000 a year earlier, driven largely by a reduction in credit costs.

Jones Bancshares LP agreed to serve as a source of strength to its $405.1 million-asset PrimeSouth Bank in Blackshear, which has been operating under a consent order from the Federal Deposit Insurancce Corp. since Jan. 31.

First Financial Holdings Inc. in Charleston, S.C., is looking to unload $155 million of mostly troubled real estate loans by the end of 2011.

First BanCorp in San Juan, P.R., has increased the maximum amount of its planned capital raise from $550 million to more than $562 million.

Electronic invoicing companies Transactis and Data Impact said Tuesday that they merged operations.

Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in which it was accused of improperly charging overdraft fees on debit card transactions.