A Kansas City, Mo., asset management firm that until last summer was partially owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co. quietly won a large breach-of-contract judgment last year against the New York bank, according to court documents unsealed this week.

HSBC Financial said this week that it could not find a suitable buyer for its consumer finance business and will be closing 75 offices across Canada, putting 500 people out of work.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group confirmed Friday that industry veteran Mike Biggs will become the chairman of its Direct Line business as the U.K. bank looks to bulk up its insurance arm ahead of a planned initial public offering later this year.

DECA Financial Services, based in Fishers, Ind., is moving into a larger building and adding 140 employees during the next three years, the company announced this week.

Commerce Bancshares — a Worcester, Mass., bank that specializes in classic car and small aircraft loans — would become a lender to buyers of Boston taxi medallions by acquiring Mercantile Capital, CEO Brian Thompson says.

A handful of banks, including CertusHoldings and Hancock Holding, have dual CEOs, which they believe helps with internal management and growth initiatives such as acquisitions.

As global banks slim down to satisfy regulators, a new wave of Asian buyers keen to be players on the regional stage is stepping up.

Beneficial Mutual Bancorp gained a 25% stake in Liberty Bell Bank after its former chairman Michael Kwasnik defaulted on a loan. Kwasnik had used the stake in recent years to stymie Liberty Bell while trying to take over the bank.

Unsuccessful in its bid to raise capital and recently ordered by regulators to bolster its loan-loss allowance, Fidelity Bank in Dearborn, Mich., is now critically undercapitalized and has told investors that is in danger of failing.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. (BBX) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Thursday that it has canceled plans for a potential capital raise after reaching a new deal to sell its thrift to BB&T Corp. (BBT)

BancTrust Financial Group Inc. (BTFG) in Mobile, Ala., has put itself up for sale after its bid to raise capital from two private-equity groups fell through.

Commerce in Worcester, Mass., has agreed to buy the parent of Mercantile Bank & Trust Co. in Boston for $26.5 million in cash.

Discover Financial Services is partnering with the operator of Puerto Rico's ATM and debit network, as part of its ongoing efforts to increase acceptance abroad by teaming up with local networks.

PSB Bancorp in Wisconsin is requiring Marathon State Bank to pay out a special dividend before the deal closes. While unusual now, the move harkens back to a pre-crisis tactic that existed when capital wasn't a concern.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America Corp., the two biggest U.S. banks, are cutting senior mortgage traders and salesmen amid a decline in the asset-backed securities market, people with knowledge of the moves said.

A Michigan bank that recently endured three straight years of losing money and a Seattle thrift that was once on the verge of failure are among 22 banks and thrifts that the investment bank Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP predicts will be added to the Russell 3000 stock index this year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) became the latest Western bank to invest in a Chinese trust company this week, taking a 19.9% stake in midsized Bridge Trust Co. for an undisclosed amount.

Activist investor Joseph Stilwell wants the company to find a seller a month after one of his representatives quit the board.

Bank of America will sell its Irish consumer credit-card unit to Apollo Global, the latest business unit sale by a shrinking B of A.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) has agreed to buy a 19.9% minority stake in a Chinese trust company, said a person familiar with the situation.