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.

The march of mobile banking has moved more slowly in the U.K. than in other countries, but NatWest and RBS have moved more quickly than others.

The slowdown in bank failures has conspiracy theorists looking for a cause, but the truth is likely a lot less exciting: The slowdown may simply reflect a stabilized industry.

The move was a case study in how remote events like the Greek-induced European crisis and realities like the sputtering recovery back home can combine to affect daily business decisions at large financial services companies.

Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday that it has hired 75 small-business bankers in Texas and that it intends to add roughly 25 more in the state by the end of the first quarter.

Todd Chamberlain, a 25-year veteran of the mortgage industry and the head of residential lending at Regions Financial, left the company last week to take a job with a competitor.

Freddie Mac is seeking to put the brakes on a recently proposed $1.6 billion settlement involving the bankruptcy estate of Taylor Bean & Whitaker and Bank of America.

"Gain on sale" margins have fallen along with volume, helping turn mortgage production into another weak point for the banking industry.

Why buy a whole bank when you can snap up its choicest assets? That appears to be the thinking of a growing number of acquirers these days as they troll for select assets and deposits rather than entire banks.

Lawsuits filed against collection agencies and creditors jumped to 614 in the June 16-30 period, up from 584 in the second half of May and 500 in the first half of June, according to data pulled from U.S. District Courts.

Merchants will have a difficult time reaping all the benefits they stand to gain from a pending settlement between the two largest U.S. credit card networks and the Department of Justice, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

USAA Federal Savings Bank is giving its members in the Washington, D.C., area more access to surcharge-free ATMs through a new partnership with Cardtronics Inc.

While other regulators busily check off implementation goals set by last year's financial reform law, the new body charged with limiting threats to the financial system is getting lost in the shuffle.

First of Huron Corp. in Bad Axe, Mich., agreed to serve as a source of strength to its $246.2 million-asset Signature Bank, which has been operating under a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and its state regulator since Jan. 27.

The proposed agreement with investors in troubled mortgage-backed securities will go far in determining whether small, third-party servicers can better resolve problem home loans.

DataMotion Inc., a provider of email encryption services, found in a recent survey conducted by Osterman Research Inc. that nearly 80% of potential community bank customers want to communicate with their banks using secure email, while only about 40% can do so currently.

Cashiers now may activate entire packs of prepaid cards at once instead of swiping each card individually, through a new service First Data Corp. is rolling out.