East West of Los Angeles hopes that buying MetroCorp in Houston will help its Chinese clients develop business ties in the Lone Star State.

Consumers in financial distress are increasingly placing more value on paying their mortgages than their credit cards, a reversal of the trend observed during the housing downturn, a TransUnion study found.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, run by former Countrywide executives, is planning its first sale of home-loan securities without government backing.

In a return to pre-recession norms, struggling consumers are now just as likely to pay their mortgages as they are monthly credit card bills, according to a TransUnion study released Thursday.

New York state regulators have proposed a sweeping set of rules to reform the force-placed insurance industry, in the latest sign that the government is taking steps to correct what critics call an abusive industry practice that overcharges homeowners.

Tracy Grooms, formerly of Bank of America, did not stay retired long. Queens University has hired her to teach undergraduates about banking at its business school, which is named after the most famous B of A exec of all.

James Watson, the bank's president, will become CEO on Oct. 1, the $1.1 billion-asset company said Thursday.

Sevier County Bank in Tennessee decided its loyal customers are its best promotion and created an interactive blog about their experiences with the bank, including the story of one woman who goes 20 miles out of her way to keep banking there.

Regulators need to get cracking on Dodd-Frank rules, and the Fed needs a chairman who understands the impact of policies on the middle class.

MidSouth Bancorp in Lafayette, La., plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. It will keep its current ticker symbol, MSL.

Chemung Financial (CHMG) in Elmira, N.Y., has lured John Battersby out of retirement to serve as interim chief financial officer.

Westby Co-Op Credit Union in Wisconsin has agreed to buy the deposits and loans of a Walmart branch from Citizens Community Bancorp (CZWI) in Eau Claire, Wis.

Signature Bank (SBNY) in New York has drawn a team of four bankers away from Amalgamated Capital to form a new asset-based lending group.

Sandberg's book has highlighted the need for both men and women to sponsor high potential women and encourage them to take a seat at the table.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has slapped JPMorgan Chase with a cease and desist order related to the bank's debt collection practices and its failure to comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, is eliminating about 1,800 more jobs in its home-loan production business as rising mortgage rates curtail borrowers' demand for refinancing.

East West Bancorp (EWBC) in Pasadena, Calif., has agreed to pay $273 million in stock and cash for MetroCorp Bancshares (MCBI) in Houston.

NewStar Financial, the Boston business lender backed by private-equity firms Corsair Capital and Capital Z Partners Management, is exploring a sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Black and Hispanic mortgage borrowers had lower credit scores and higher default rates than Asian and non-Hispanic white borrowers, according to analysis released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Board.

The Central Bank's surprise decision to continue buying mortgage bonds may not spark another refinancing boom, but it could spur more home purchases.