T-Mobile USA Inc. is the latest wireless carrier to allow its subscribers to charge purchases of online games, songs and videos to their phone bills.

In what it is calling a return to decades-old marketing tactics combined with new technology, credit-score giant FICO on Aug. 2 introduced a product designed to target credit card customer prospects more effectively in a sluggish market.

There are few topics as easy to get into a friendly, if a bit heated, debate these days as "the future of branches" in banking. Many folks quickly compare branches to buggy whip factories and traditional bankers to Luddites. Others jump in and cite research or survey results that say customers still prefer to open accounts in branches, and that, by the way, branches are still profitable.

Tapping the devices' potential means marrying banking with personal financial management.

Pacific Western Bank in Los Angeles has hired Linda Nahra, the former chief executive at Community West Bank in Goleta, Calif., as a regional president.

FNB United in Asheboro, N.C., has finished raising the $310 million of capital it needs to move forward with its plan to acquire another North Carolina bank.

Much has been made on Capitol Hill of the “unchecked” powers of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the lack of oversight of its work. Actually, the agency’s powers are quite circumscribed by the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that created it.

Hampton Roads Bankshares Inc. in Norfolk, Va., has sold its insurance business as part of its ongoing effort to reduce overhead and streamline operations.

Finally, a milestone that bankers can be (slightly) proud of: more banks made money in the second quarter than in any other quarter over the past five years, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.'s quarterly wrap-up of bank earnings released Tuesday.

Richard Lashley, an activist investor known for pressuring underperforming banks to find buyers, has won a seat on the board of BCSB Bancorp Inc. in Baltimore.

Financial technology vendor S1 Corp.'s board of directors has rebuffed an unsolicited acquisition bid from rival ACI Worldwide Inc., signaling its commitment to an existing agreement it has to buy another competitor.

PARMA, Ohio – Wiremen’s CU has agreed to purchase a one-time Third Federal S&L branch and will renovate both the exterior and interior.

Even as tight ties between regulators and the regulated are blamed for the housing collapse, former FHA chief David Stevens shows the Washington revolving door is in full swing.

A woman who sued a collection law firm for twice attempting to garnish her wages for a debt she did not owe was awarded $1.26 million, according to a ruling Friday by a federal jury in New Mexico.

MBA's chief economist notes that refi applications have not been terrific of late and is unsure whether the latest drop in rates will spur much new business.

A federal court has halted an online operation that allegedly debited consumers’ bank accounts without their consent when consumers visited the defendants’ Web sites seeking payday loans.

Homeland Security Capital Corp., Arlington, Va., has made its second acquisition in the mortgage and settlement services space by buying Timios Inc., a nationwide provider of title and escrow services for $1.15 million, plus contingency payments of up to $1.35 million over the next 12 months.

Homeowners who originated their mortgages during the peak of the housing boom with unfavorable loan terms are getting more frustrated with their inability to refinance with mortgage servicers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. primary mortgage servicer satisfaction study.

MDR Mortgage and its founder and president Robert Luce are facing a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice for the alleged misrepresentation of Department of Housing and Urban Development-insured loans.

The 'on-again/off-again' sale process has started once again for Aurora Loan Services, the Colorado-based mortgage banking division of Aurora Bank FSB, according to industry officials.