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The pressure on merchant acquirers to enable transactions in more channels for more merchant types is accelerating, and TSYS is turning to the M&A market to accelerate its digital diversification, announcing an agreement with Vista Equity Partners to acquire Vista portfolio company TransFirst for $2.35 billion in cash.

Talmer agreed to sell itself in a privately negotiated deal that values the company at 150% of its tangible book value. For some analysts and investors, the company should have considered an auction — or not selling at all.

Fintech is a chic topic at Davos, but it's barely a blip on the radar of analysts who lock in on hard numbers during earnings calls. Yet with tech taking a bigger role in financial services, mobile banking or the blockchain might soon become as topical as efficiency ratios or net interest margins.

In the absence of congressional action on housing finance reform, here is what the Federal Housing Finance Agency should do sooner rather than later.

Credit union service organizations can begin to register with the NCUA’s CUSO Registry starting Feb. 1, the agency said Monday.

Popular Inc. in San Juan, Puerto Rico, reported a triple-digit increase in fourth-quarter profit on higher fee and interest income.

American International Group’s announcement Tuesday that it plans to split off its mortgage insurance business takes the prospect of a broader breakup off the table in the short term, but some observers think the firm may still break itself up eventually.

More than half of the deals announced so far this year have involved sellers from the Midwest. Expect activity in the region to rise as more banks mimic Huntington Bancshares and Chemical Financial by becoming acquirers.

Samaha Associates, a consulting group for financial institutions, announced that Fort Bragg Federal Credit Union and SkyOne Federal Credit Union sought out its services to find a way to ensure that their respective electronic funds transfer (EFT) systems are optimized, efficient and meet regulatory standards.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., said its fourth-quarter profit rose 20% to $33 million from a year earlier as its lending rose by nearly half and its expenses fell.