JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon talked up the housing market's prospects, downplayed his bank's exposure to Europe and urged parties in Washington to resolve the standoff over the debt ceiling Thursday.

NBT Bancorp Inc. of Norwich, N.Y., is expanding into western Massachusetts with a deal to purchase four branches from Legacy Bancorp of Pittsfield, Mass.

Improved asset quality, lower credit costs and gains on investment securities powered Washington Federal Inc. in Seattle to a $30.1 million profit in the quarter that ended June 30, an increase of 138% over the same period in 2010.

William Ferguson, the former owner of Bush & Kennedy Inc., a Baton Rouge, La.-based collection agency, has been charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft that allegedly cost Hancock Bank more than $126,000.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit against Diversified Real Estate Consultants LLC (DREC), a foreclosure rescue company based in Florida.

Consumer credit card debt fell 10% during the first half of the year and 17% from a year ago, and now totals $6,472, according to data Credit Karma released Wednesday. Credit scores held steady since the start of the year at 667, down two points from June 2010.

The social activism website Change.org has taken up the plight of the parents of an active-duty service member, who are facing foreclosure.

As housing prices continue to slide, the loan-to-value ratios of always-performing loans have in many cases crept higher than those on defaulted loans, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service.

The nonexistent spring home-selling season has put yet another crimp in the long-expected rebound of private mortgage insurers.

Loan modifications were flat in May compared with the previous month, while foreclosure sales dipped, according to the latest numbers from Hope Now, an industry alliance of mortgage servicers, investors and counselors.

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VSB Bancorp Inc. said Wednesday that second-quarter earnings fell 7.5% largely because of lower yields on securities and loans during the period.

The Bank of South Carolina Corp. is on pace to beat its profit target for the full year thanks to strong second-quarter results, its president said Wednesday.

Jeff Taylor, one of the mortgage industry's biggest advocates for the reverse mortgage product, believes there is still a future for the home equity conversion mortgage in the wake of Wells Fargo discontinuing its production operations, but the Federal Housing Administration needs to alter its rules.

What would members think . . .

ROCHESTER, Minn. – More than four years after the plans were announced, Mayo Employees CU is preparing to build a new, 6,000-square-foot branch in southeast Rochester.

As potential buyers kick the tires of a few big credit card portfolios on the block, the issuers' private-label card operations for the first time in years could be an advantage, instead of a drag, thanks to changes in the economy and in industry regulations.

The $14 billion-asset Wintrust struck a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday for the assets and deposits of First Chicago Bank and Trust, its third FDIC transaction this year.

The majority of Americans still place value in owning a home, despite a recession and recent housing crisis.

PayPal is pushing harder in mobile payments by promising near-field communication support for Android handsets.