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Westpac Banking Corp. said Monday it will increase annual investment in technology and simplifying operations by 20 percent as it seeks to boost efficiency and cut costs.

Americans had 314 million credit card accounts during the first three months of the year, the highest number since the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a report released Wednesday.

Consumer borrowing rose by $19.1 billion in July, pushing the total to a record $3.45 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.

Concerned about security, the Australian Parliament is recommending that all contactless transactions, which it defines as including Near Field Communication (NFC), default to opt out, meaning shoppers would have to proactively opt-in to use the technology.

With the mobile payments landscape rapidly evolving, banks face a vexing challenge: what should their go-forward strategy be?

FNB Bancorp in South San Francisco, Calif., has acquired America California Bank in San Francisco.

Bridgewater Bancshares in Bloomington, Minn., has raised $15 million from the private-equity firm Castle Creek Capital.

Nicolet Bankshares in Green Bay, Wis., has agreed to buy Baylake Corp. in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Bank of America is offering $1.2 billion of mostly delinquent home loans, extending a series of sales by lenders seeking to pare holdings and meet demand by investment firms for soured mortgages.

Vikram Pandit knows a thing or two about fees — he ran a hedge fund and led Citigroup Inc. as the world's biggest credit card lender. Now he's switched sides and wants to help people avoid them.