Total Mortgage Services, a nonbank mortgage lender based in Milford, Conn., on Monday said it plans to hire 50 new loan officers as it expands its retail presence in the U.S.

Most borrowers do not end up in worse neighborhoods, nor do they endure more crowded living conditions after foreclosure, the central bank's economists find.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.'s directors plan to discuss at a meeting Tuesday the possibility of trying to acquire rival online-brokerage firm E*Trade Financial Corp., according to people familiar with the situation.

As we say in New York, the new agency is going to be a first-class “noodge” – pushing and cajoling the industry to simplify, clarify and and modify some of its practices.

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WASHINGTON — Two failed banks in Florida went to one acquirer Friday, and regulators also shut a $1 billion-asset bank in Colorado, as the year's failure total reached 58.

USAmeriBancorp Inc. in Clearwater, Fla., is planning to acquire the remaining stake in an Alabama bank that it does not already own.

Antsy investors are urging some community banks that have survived the recession but just can't get much forward momentum to create value or find a partner that can.

Bank of the Carolinas Corp. fell into a deeper hole in the second quarter, posting a net loss of $9.9 million compared, to a loss of $415,000 a year earlier.

Bank Mutual Corp. in Milwaukee reported a loss of $51.4 million for the second quarter, largely stemming from a $52.6 million goodwill impairment charge.

In blunt comments about cost control, William H. Rogers Jr. showed that he is trying to manage expectations as the new chief executive of SunTrust Banks Inc.

First Niagara Financial Group and M&T Bank are playing it cool on whether they plan to bid for HSBC's branches in upstate New York — but they aren't discouraging speculation, either.

Southside Bancshares Inc. of Tyler, Texas, said that its second-quarter profits rose 18% from same period a year earlier, to $11.5 million, and that earnings per share increased 19.6%, to 67 cents.

Many financial institutions have yet to complete applications to be included in the national registry, exposing themselves to potential sanctions following the July 29 deadline.

With loan demand still weak in many areas of the country, more and more bankers are starting to believe that their banks will need to merge with other institutions to achieve meaningful growth.

Analysts at Sandler O'Neill & Partners have raised earnings estimates for City National Corp. after the Los Angeles company reported strong second-quarter earnings growth that was aided by improved asset quality and "promising" gains in its commercial-and-industrial loan portfolio.

The $22 billion-asset company reported net income available to shareholders of $25.6 million, compared to $15.4 million in the first quarter and a net loss of $10.2 million a year earlier.

Aided by improved credit quality and strong loan and deposit growth, Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston reported earnings of $35.1 million in the second quarter, up 10.5% from the same quarter in 2010.

MB Financial Inc., which took an aggressive stance on its credit by purging bad loans, reported a $10 million net loss available for shareholders during the second quarter.

Despite having negative equity, Albina Community Bancorp in Portland, Ore., managed to turn a profit for a second quarter in a row.