Texas

Count the merchant acquirer First American Payment Systems LP among the U.S. payment processors looking abroad for growth.

Like a lot of companies, TLCM Holdings LLC in Richardson, Texas, was shopping for a failing bank. Its plan: transform the target's business model to provide a secondary market for bank loans.

TLCM Holdings LLC, a new holding company in Richardson, Texas, has agreed to acquire EJ Financial Corp. in Dallas. TLCM and EJ Financial announced the deal late Wednesday, without disclosing the price.

Sometimes the best deal is the one that doesn't happen. That appears to be the case for Sterling Bancshares in Houston, which announced this week that it had called off its 19-branch deal with First Banks Inc. The sale was set to close by Dec. 31.

Patriot Bancshares Inc. in Houston has canceled its deal to buy the $497 million-asset Texas Community Bank in The Woodlands, Texas, the Houston Business Journal reported Friday.

High-ranking executives at First Horizon National, Comerica and U.S. Bancorp said they're on the prowl for failed-bank deals that could extend them into new markets or make them stronger in places where they already have a presence.

For Vikram Pandit, Tuesday will provide a momentary break from the harsh spotlight steadily focused on Citigroup Inc., and a chance to turn the focus to his institution's less traditional lending efforts in underserved communities.

The Minneapolis company announced Wednesday that it is seeking buyers for Citizens National Bank of Teague, Madisonville State Bank in Madisonville and North Houston Bank in Houston.

Cardtronics Inc.'s return to profitability is making it harder for the automated teller machine operator to find a chief executive to its liking.

A new group formed to buy failing banks plans to use its recent deal for tiny, well-capitalized Palisades National Bank as a springboard for further acquisitions.

Improved technology and growing interest in cost cutting have prompted some financial companies to install videoconferencing systems to serve people in the branch, replacing tellers in some cases or providing immediate access to specialists who might be working at another location.

Charming Shoppes Inc. has closed on the sale of its private-label credit card portfolio to Alliance Data Systems Inc. for $166 million.

MasterCard Inc. said Monday that USAA Federal Savings Bank has signed up for its Integrated Processing Solutions debit platform.

MoneyGram International Inc. posted a narrower third-quarter loss thanks to stronger revenue than analysts expected.

Over a year after being hit hard by the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FBOP Corp.'s nine banks totaling $19B in assets were closed by the government Friday night.

Two years into the financial crisis, spreads have widened considerably, and Beal's buying is in overdrive. Its assets surged 135% from a year earlier, to $7.5 billion at June 30.

An unexpectedly high number of cash withdrawals made with payroll cards at its Allpoint automated teller machines drove Cardtronics Inc. into the black in the third quarter.

A new commercial real estate lender in Dallas is looking for opportunities to make loans nationwide and says it can help banks by recapitalizing their borrowers.

Texas Dow Employees CU, one of the largest locally-owned financial institutions, is calling on Texans to shun the out-of-state and international banks that are buying up increasing parts of the local market.

Bank of America Corp. should not promote either Brian Moynihan or Gregory Curl to chief executive because both are "tainted" by the Merrill Lynch & Co. takeover, according to a shareholder.