South Street Financial had just given up on raising capital and had hired Raymond James to evaluate possible suitors when a BNC representative visited the CEO's office to request merger talks.

Bankers are mulling new ways to serve consumers with low incomes and poor credit profiles after the crackdown on deposit advances, but the prospect of smaller profits and continuing uncertainty about regulations may dissuade a serious effort.

The volume of complaints lodged by distressed borrowers to four of the largest U.S. banks has stabilized, the monitor for the national mortgage settlement says.

"Servicers now face compensatory fees, not for mistakes or unreasonable delays, but simply as the cost of doing business," Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens says.

Before the Target breach, many merchants were apparently willing to delay or ignore the card networks' deadline for adopting EMV and ready to face the consequences. Now, even merchants who remain unsold on EMV as cost-effective security may view incorporating the technology as unavoidable.

Steven Antonakes, the CFPB's deputy director, gave a speech which indicated the agency has shifted to a hard-line stance regarding compliance with a new mortgage servicing rule that went into effect last month. "Business as usual has ended in the mortgage servicing industry," he said.

The largest U.S. bank's apartment loan business is mushrooming, aided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac retrenching. Now JPMorgan is refocusing on a market where, surprisingly, it lags: New York.

Investment bank Houlihan Lokey has added a director with ample experience in mortgage banking deals to its financial institutions group.

Comerica Inc. (CMA), a financial-services firm that focuses on middle-market and small businesses, named Michael W. Malone chief executive officer of its securities and insurance units.

The National Fair Housing Alliance is accusing Bank of America (BAC) of discriminating against Latino mortgage applicants.

Even legislators can run into trouble with creditors.

For his new book, Kevin Roose shadowed new hires at the country’s biggest investment banks. His conclusion: Banks’ problems go well beyond the misdeeds of a few and include doubts about whether they can attract and retain top talent and future leaders.

Amazon.com Inc. is expanding the use of its digital currency, Amazon Coins, to all apps and games in the mobile Amazon Appstore.

Twelve defendants that allegedly operated Web sites enticing consumers with bogus offers of "free $1,000 gift cards" for major retailers have agreed to pay $2.5 million in settlements with the Federal Trade Commission.

The credit card delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on their general purpose credit cards) dropped on a yearly basis from 1.61 percent in Q4 2012 to 1.48 percent in Q4 2013.

Former Jefferies & Co. managing director Jesse Litvak defrauded investors of $2 million using a U.S. bank bailout program to earn illegal profit for the firm, prosecutors said at the start of his trial.

As Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) sees it, time has run out on New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s pursuit of Wall Street banks for mortgage fraud that helped trigger the financial crisis.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped Al-Rajhi Bank, the world's largest Shariah-compliant lender, as a correspondent banking client amid a push to improve risk controls, said two people with direct knowledge of the move.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is suing eight former officers and directors of Habersham Bank over their role in the failure of the Clarkesville, Ga., lender.

First Citizens Banc Corp (FCZA) in Sandusky, Ohio, has exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program.