U.S. regulators are examining whether the nation's home lenders have accurately valued $845 billion of home equity and other second-lien mortgages, according to seven people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Encouraged by H&R Block Inc.'s decision to stop offering controversial loans linked to tax refunds, consumer groups have urged other tax preparation companies to "just say no" to offering the high-cost, short-term loans.

The residential mortgage market has been plagued by uncertainty as the industry waits for guidance on risk retention, new disclosure requirements, and some kind of resolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Superior Bank in Tampa has added another former Regions Bank executive to its management team, naming Sean Johnson as its head of retail banking.

If a merchant plans to use advanced data encryption as a credit card data security measure, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council now has some guidelines for how best to go about it.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMC Mortgage unit was sued by Wells Fargo & Co., the trustee for a mortgage portfolio, for refusing to buy back more than 800 defective home loans.

Wintrust Financial Corp. won the bidding for the failed First Chicago Bank & Trust but it is still fighting for the right to use the First Chicago name.

The heads of major retail banks say the strength of their liquidity, capital, loan books and deposits more than outweigh the risks for investors.

A Fannie Mae announcement late Wednesday heaping praise on the highest-rated mortgage servicers was notable for its glaring omissions: Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and five other large banks did not make the list.

Bank of America Corp., the lender that's divesting assets to raise capital, agreed to sell 80.8 million shares of HCA Holdings Inc. back to the health-care company for $1.5 billion. HCA's stock jumped 10 percent.

Nuvo Bank President Jeff Sattler and this hotel owner plan to take a 13-story leap for charity.

MasterCard is emphasizing products aimed at affluent consumers as well as emerging categories like prepaid cards and mobile payments in an effort to drive growth, executives said Thursday.

The same uncertainties about the economy, capital rules and other matters that are slowing deal activity could ultimately prod sellers to give in. The question is when.

Tax-preparation company H&R Block, Inc. said this week that it did not have a "compelling reason" to offer refund anticipation loans during the upcoming 2012 tax season — but the decision was out of its hands. Federal banking regulators last year effectively killed H&R Block's tax refund loan business.

Opus Bank, Irvine, Calif., hired Michael L. Allison as chief credit officer and executive vice president.

Continuing a wave of consolidation among California community banks, AltaPacific Bancorp in Santa Rosa said late Wednesday that it is buying Stellar Business Bank in Covina for $17.4 million in stock.

S&T Bancorp in Indiana, Pa., announced late Wednesday that it is buying Mainline Bancorp Inc. in Ebensburg, Pa., for roughly $21.5 million in cash and stock.

The board of the payments technology vendor Fundtech plans to halt its intended merger with S1 after receiving a separate offer from the private equity firm GTCR.

Employment in the mortgage industry continued to grind down in recent months, and the current revival in loan volume appears likely to produce a modest reversal in the trend at most.

Led by energy, and bolstered by a diversifying economy, the Texas metropolis is drawing a wave of new banks to vie with the city's incumbents.