Consumer credit rose by $5.08 billion in May, marking the eighth straight monthly increase, as credit card debt had its largest gain in three years, according to the Federal Reserve's monthly G.19 report.

SAN ANTONIO – Air Force FCU said yesterday it has opened a new branch near the Army’s Fort Sam Houston.

Union First Market Bank in Richmond, Va., announced Monday that it has opened seven branches inside Martin's Food Markets in central Virginia.

Fidelity National Financial Inc., one of the country's largest providers of title insurance, has agreed to pay $4.5 million to resolve charges that it paid kickbacks to real estate brokers.

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As bankers anxiously await the anticipated 300 new regulations from Dodd-Frank regulators have continued their assault on banking practices. Bankers have recently been concerned about the details and expected requirements regarding automated overdraft-payment programs that were initially issued last November, with follow-up explanations provided in late March.

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Rising regulatory costs are forcing banks of all shapes and sizes to take a hard look at consolidation, including the mostly dormant field of mutually owned banks.

Tempo Payments, a pioneer of the decoupled-debit card, is winding down its operations. Mike Grossman, Tempo's CEO, puts the blame squarely on the Durbin amendment.

Despite a recent uptick in national home prices, Clear Capital reported that home values are down 3.2% for the first six months of this year, and the real estate data firm is projecting another 2.4% decline through the second half of 2011.

Stewart Lender Services has purchased a majority ownership interest in PMH Financial from Braddock Holdings Co., expanding its capabilities in the default management and real estate owned segment.

Housing and Urban Development released its final rule on the Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing Act at the end of June. It exempts employees of government agencies, loan servicers, mortgage modifiers and employees of non-profit agencies from licensing and registration requirements in the act.

U.S. Bancorp has increased its mobile banking options for prepaid card customers.

With a 98% retention rate, USAA Federal Savings Bank seems to have little room to improve customer service. But it's spent the past two years and millions of dollars overhauling systems to do just that.

Centrix Bank in Bedford, N.H., intends to tap the government's billion Small Business Lending Fund to increase its commercial lending and repay what it borrowed from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. in White Plains, N.Y., is expanding its loan production office in Danvers, Mass., as part of a major push to increase its lending in eastern Massachusetts.

Even as he favored a broader exemption from risk retention than currently proposed, Rep. Barney Frank said Monday regulators should not undermine skin-in-the-game rules by turning the exception into the rule.

The price of being a good neighbor can be steep for banks foreclosing on condominiums and homes in planned communities.

While some bankers are secretly gleeful the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau does not yet have a director, they are the ones likely to pay a heavy price as a result.

With a 98% retention rate, USAA Federal Savings Bank seems to have little room to improve customer service. But it's spent the past two years and millions of dollars overhauling systems to do just that.