After a yearlong effort to reach a multistate settlement with the top five mortgage servicers, state attorneys general and the firms involved finally appear to be close to a deal. But even before it is signed, there are already questions about how it will be implemented and future litigation risks.

Northway Financial Corp. in North Conway, N.H., said Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 95% from the same period in 2010, to $67,000, after it set aside more money for potential losses and absorbed costs related to prepayment of its Federal Home Loan Bank advances.

JPMorgan Chase has tentatively agreed to pay $110 million over allegations that it charged customers excessive overdraft fees. Editors discuss the deal's importance to the other banks trying to settle overdraft claims.

DCB Financial Corp. in Lewis Center, Ohio, is planning to raise fresh capital by issuing more stock to existing and prospective shareholders.

F&M Bank, of Iowa, would get 2 branches in Galeburg, Ill., with $66 million of deposits.

Mid-Atlantic Corporate FCU said this afternoon it has completed the merger of Virginia Corporate FCU, the latest corporate combination creating a corporate credit union with $4.1 billion in assets serving more than 800 credit unions.

Toney Weagley, the chief executive of Center Bancorp, unveiled an acquisition (Saddle River Valley Bank) in New Jersey last week. In an interview, he discusses growth in the northern part of the state and his ongoing search for more bank deals.

The sale of MBNA Europe, Bank of America Corp.'s U.K. and Ireland credit-card business, has been abandoned, a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.

State Bank Financial Corp.'s shares slid Monday after the Atlanta company reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

Experian now offers a collections filtering product called FirstSweep.

Banks have faced onslaughts of litigation for several years over their credit card payment protection plans. But so far legal efforts to challenge or change the business have ended in dismissals or relatively small settlements.

Sovereign Bank in Dallas is converting its loan production office in Houston into a regional headquarters and is eyeing further expansion in Texas' largest city.

Banks have been accused of ripping off consumers for insurance-like credit card products. Now critics who say the payment protection plans are a racket could get a boost from federal regulators.

Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. in Pennsylvania is acquiring a Philadelphia-area wealth management firm from Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. and the firm's management group.

California has returned to talks after a four-month absence to possibly take part in a multi-state deal with the nation's largest mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Citigroup Inc. said Monday it will issue credit cards on its own in China, as it looks to capitalize on the country's increasing consumption power as well as expand in the world's second-largest economy.

TUMWATER, Wash. – O Bee CU is celebrating the grand opening of its West Olympia branch through Feb. 25 with a drawing for a family vacation for four to Disneyland and a half-carat diamond pendant.

The Durbin amendment has sapped debit card revenue, but swipe fees are contributing a growing share of earnings at large credit card businesses.

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Stocks rose after the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected last month, driving the Nasdaq Composite to an 11-year high and pushing the Dow to its highest close in nearly four years.