Low-risk reinsurance vehicles amounted to illegal payoffs, the HUD Inspector General's office found in 2009. But the Department of Justice hasn't acted on the case referred by to it by HUD investigators.

Two important votes this month will determine fate of ACI Worldwide's hostile bid for S1, which would thwart S1's planned merger with Fundtech.

Equifax has acquired Datum, a Costa Rican credit reporting company.

Just days after announcing plans to raise $10 million in a preferred stock offering, BofI Holding Inc. in San Diego now says it intends to raise $18 million.

More banks deals occurred in California in the first half than in any other state. Its advanced economic recovery, plethora of targets and allure for investment dollars could spur more.

App lets students deposit checks using their iPhone, iPad or dorm room scanner.

Is it worth delaying a bottoming-out of the housing market, and allowing some delinquent borrowers to freeload for a time, in order to prevent the rare but documented instances of someone being wrongly foreclosed on?

Community Pride Bank Corp. in Ham Lake, Minn., is under orders from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to use all of its "financial and managerial" resources to ensure that its bank subsidiary remains safe and sound.

Rogers Communications Inc., Canada's biggest wireless phone company, plans to start a bank, primarily focused on credit, payment and charge-card services, a filing with the Canadian government said.

The FDIC has terminated its consent order against Clarkston State Bank in Michigan after the bank recapitalized with investments from private citizens and current board members and made improvements in managing its loan portfolio.

Bank of America's plan to eliminate roughly 3,500 jobs this quarter marks just the start of an efficiency drive that could reduce the company's global workforce by about 10%.

American Express, which has been developing prepaid and digital payment options to expand its audience, has added yet another product: an online-only gift card.

Carlyle Group is set to join the growing ranks of publicly traded private equity firms, filing an initial public offering worth up to $100 million, although the amount of the offering is likely to change before the company's stock actually prices.

As ATM operators consider upgrades, security is a priority, but not the top priority. Operators are most welcoming of any function that reduces cash replenishment and deposit collection costs. Security improvements are the next highest priority.

Fewer than half of all cardholders have a private-label credit card, but those who do are more likely to carry a balance routinely on various cards than consumers who rely only on general-purpose cards, new data from Auriemma Consulting Group suggests.

IMGCAP(1)]

B of A spokesman Dan Frahm clarified late last week that the decision to stay in warehouse lending depends "to some extent on the interests of a potential buyer for our correspondent business.

There is more than enough capacity for the remaining private mortgage insurers to handle the current volume of low down payment loans as PMI and Republic Mortgage Insurance Co. stop writing new business, industry executives say.

The federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed lawsuits Friday against 17 financial institutions, including some of the largest American banks, alleging that they made misrepresentations when they sold private-label mortgage-backed securities to Fannie and Freddie.

A single acquirer picked up the operations of two failed Georgia banks late Friday in a deal costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. nearly $72 million.