Automated Clearing House payments are cheap, but compared to other payment methods they are slow, and companies are constantly developing adaptations and alternatives to make such payments in real time.

The pace of small-business lending slowed in April as demand from borrowers weakened and lenders of all sizes approved fewer loans.

First BanCorp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is bringing its credit card portfolio back in-house.

A tiny merger in Maine could prove a test case for a type of deal that risk-averse acquirers have been struggling to pull off.

MasterCard plans to launch PayPass Wallet Services later this year to enable bank and merchant customers to allow purchases in stores or online by paying with a tap of a smartphone, click of a computer mouse or touch of a tablet screen.

Currently there is a significant disparity between small privately held businesses' strong need for credit, which is unmet, and lender's enthusiastic willingness to give credit to large companies, few of which are seeking credit.

Mike Slocum, head of Capital One's growing commercial and specialty lending operations, has helped the bank diversify by financing some very niche industries.

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Six months ago Alliance Bankshares and a merger partner called off a deal they had announced - and Alliance's CEO says the Virginia bank has found a superior alternative.

Paul Nash, a former lobbyist, will advise the new comptroller after heading FDIC's legislative operations during run-up to Dodd-Frank.

First Bank of Delaware is set to shut down by the end of the year, the result of a wide-ranging consent order issued that alleged weaknesses in the bank's monitoring of relationships in its e-payment and money services business lines, and poor compliance efforts.

Triumph Bancshares of Germantown, Tenn., has sold 1.35 million shares to investors, raising roughly $12.2 million in fresh funds to help grow its bank.

Top executives at Bank Mutual (BKMU) in Milwaukee told investors Monday that the company is eyeing acquisitions of banks and other financial services firms in its quest to become a “much larger company” in the next few years.

It's accounting — specifically purchase accounting, Gerard Cassidy of RBC Capital Markets says in a Q&A. The problem will persist until the economy and the real estate market improve further, he warns.

International Bancshares (IBOC) of Laredo, Texas, reported first-quarter income of $28.3 million, down more than 6% from a year earlier, as the company collected lower fees from interchange and overdraft protection.

Ally Financial Inc. (ALLY), the auto lender majority-owned by U.S. taxpayers, has received conditional U.S. Treasury Department approval for plans to put its Residential Capital unit into bankruptcy, according to an Obama administration official.

With strong ledgers and creative management, many community bankers are proving they can thrive despite greater regulatory hurdles and the ever-present threat of large banks.

When Square launched its mobile card reader in 2009, VeriFone Systems was on its heels with PayWare Mobile. Now VeriFone is ready to roll out another Square rival, which it calls Sail.

UBS AG (UBSN), which had more than $57 billion of losses and writedowns after the U.S. real-estate crash, is betting there's enough demand for toxic commercial property assets to sell debt created at the height of the boom.