Analysts Richard Bove and Meredith Whitney said B of A is not in a capital crisis. Meanwhile, the company is fighting back against critics and calling merger specualtion "baseless."

First BanCorp's bid to raise more than $560 million of fresh capital hit a snag this week after the San Juan, P.R., company failed to obtain enough shareholder votes to proceed with its plan to issue 150 million of new shares.

TD Bank has hired 15 new employees at its Lexington, S,C., operations center and intends to add 20 more to support its growth along the East Coast.

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With at least 30 banks in the Chicago area on the brink of failure, a crew of ex-LaSalle bankers have formed Front Street to start shopping on their old turf.

Community Choice Financial Inc., a payday-loan company backed by a New York private equity fund, filed for a $230 million initial public offering this week, expanding some sources of consumer lending as traditional banks face new regulatory restrictions.

Mark Furlong, head of the Canadian bank's expanded U.S. unit, predicts its commercial lending may expand this year but overall lending will keep shrinking into next year.

Most banking agencies kept running on Tuesday after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rattled Washington, but let some employees go home. There were no immediate reports of damage to any of the buildings.

A federal judge says the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. can't dodge a $10 billion lawsuit over the toxic remnants of Washington Mutual Bank.

Community groups in California are protesting Capital One Financial Corp.'s planned acquisition of ING Direct, saying the banks have done little to help low-income communities in a state that has accounted for a large chunk of their profits.

An Ohio storefront alternative lender has filed for a $230 million initial public offering, as traditional banks maintain a tight-fisted approach to consumer lending.

Capital One negotiated a crucial concession in its agreement to buy HSBC's cards business, while First Niagara did not in a big branch deal with the same seller. Investors, skittish about the markets, have punished First Niagara.

Community groups in California are protesting Capital One Financial Corp.'s planned acquisition of ING Direct, saying the banks have done little to help low-income communities in a state that has accounted for a large chunk of their profits.

Accenture said Monday it will buy Dallas-based mortgage outsourcing provider Zenta, in a move that puts the global consulting and outsourcing firm in the thick of the mortgage origination business and the massive loss-mitigation efforts of the mortgage servicing industry.

A small mutual thrift in Maryland has won approval from state and federal regulators to convert to a publicly traded company.

S1's board urged shareholders Monday to vote in favor of the company's pending merger with Fundtech because it says the deal will propel the technology vendors ahead of their competitors. The board also urged shareholders once again to vote against an unsolicited acquisition bid from ACI Worldwide.

Regulators closed banks in Florida, Georgia and Illinois Friday, all in places were many banks have already met their demise. On Thursday, a bank failed in Pennsylvania, one of just a handful to fail in that state in the last few years.

With wild swings in the stock market, negotiations over protections form big changes in the stock values of buyers and sellers are bogging down an already slow deals market.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed Lydian Private Bank in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday. The $1.7 billion-asset bank is the 10th bank to fail in Florida this year.

To survive, capital-starved Community Banks of Colorado has struck a deal to sell 16 branches as well as its name.