Texas

At least three banking companies marked the end of the year by closing deals.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. paid Pier 1 Imports Inc. $28.3 million as part of a deal to retool the companies' private-label credit card agreement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has raided a Dallas server farm that housed computers used to launch Internet attacks against PayPal Inc., according to an affidavit posted by TheSmokingGun.com/

Brandon Steele knows how to process crude oil, sew duffle bags and raise cattle. But being chairman of a community bank is a new one for this serial business owner.

Encore Bancshares in Houston said Friday that it had received regulatory approval to sell certain operations in Florida to Ovation Holdings Inc.

Steele Holdings Inc. said Friday that it had bought American State Bank in Arp, Texas. Steele, a private company based in Tyler, Texas, paid an undisclosed amount of cash for the $220.2 million-asset bank.

Beehive Credit Union in Salt Lake City, which once had assets of $200 million and unsuccessfully tried to convert to a mutual savings bank, was shut down Wednesday.

BB&T Corp. has entered into a multiyear agreement with Cardtronics Inc.'s Allpoint network to expand surcharge-free ATM access to the issuer's debit cardholders in Florida and Texas.

ST Financial Group in College Station, Texas, has raised $15.1 million in capital through a private offering.

Think Finance wanted to give underbanked consumers access to credit when they needed it, while helping them avoid a bad cycle of debt. To accomplish this, the online payday lender developed the Elastic card, a prepaid debit card with a line of credit of up to $500, that rewards consumers with lower fees for exhibiting good behavior, like making payments on time.

After piloting an online payment network that it says guards against potential identity theft, JetPay LLC will be providing that same platform, Secure Vault Payments, to its own clients.

C. Malcolm Holland, who led the Texas division of Colonial Bank, has raised $45 million in capital with the goal of rebuilding the franchise he lost when Colonial failed in August 2009.

Comerica Inc. outflanked its better-known big-bank rivals by becoming the first dividend-cutting bank to raise its quarterly payout since the economic downturn.

After an issuer's short-term loan program was shut down, NetSpend, which offered the program, said there is still room for some form of lending product among its offerings.

The largest shareholder of Sterling Bancshares Inc. is preparing for a proxy contest to overhaul the Houston company's board.

Cardtronics Inc. is crediting its Allpoint surcharge-free ATM network for the company's recent rise in profits.

First Financial Bankshares Inc. in Abilene, Texas, has closed its $22.2 million acquisition of Sam Houston Financial Corp. The purchase includes Sam Houston's banking subsidiary, First State Bank in Huntsville.

Green Bank in Houston said Tuesday that it has completed the purchase of certain assets in Texas of the failed La Jolla Bank.

Cardtronics Inc. will provide ATM management services at 24 of Bosselman Inc.'s 42 Pump & Pantry convenience stores in Nebraska under an agreement the companies announced Oct. 27.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA's U.S. operations posted a third-quarter profit but problematic loans crept up slightly.