Data Sets

PayPal's point of sale mobile payment system combines over half a decade of initiatives — and a few notable setbacks along the way.

Another slow week in August? Don't bet on it. Mitt Romney kicked off the week by naming his running mate, and OCC followed up by announcing Julie Williams retirement. Here are the highlights of last week:

The rumor mill is catching fire as Apple nears its next product launch. Changes to the iPhone, iPad and other systems could affect initiatives at many payments companies.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. As excerpted from the Comments sections of AmericanBanker.com articles.

Restoring Glass-Steagall would be "a palliative just like the Volcker rule: simple to say, hard to do," says consultant Allan Grody. Even under the 1933 law, he notes, financial innovators blurred the lines between commercial and investment banking - almost from the very start. The following are examples Grody cites in his forthcoming book Reengineering the Financial Corporation.Pictured: Sen. Carter Glass and Rep. Henry Steagall.

EverBank's announcement this week that it has set up a division to lend to golf equipment makers is the latest example of a bank trying to distinguish itself as a niche lender. Whether banks acquire units or start them from scratch - usually by wooing away rivals' lending teams - the objective is the same: Offset weak demand for traditional business and consumer loans.

While former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is mostly a blank slate when it comes to financial services issues, his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, is not. Following are some of the stances Ryan has taken on issues critical to the banking sector:

Eight banks still have more than $2 billion in loans covered by FDIC loss-sharing agreements, according to data compiled by FIG Partners. Collectively, the FDIC is covering a percentage of losses on $39 billion of loans at those banks. Here are the banks with the largest amount of covered loans at June 30.

It's well known in Washington that August is meant to be a dead time, as lawmakers return to their home states to campaign and regulators take the month off. But last week proved the exception to the rule, with action on mortgage servicing, eminent domain and Basel III. Here are some of the highlights:

Sites like Groupon have captured consumers' attention and loyalty in a way that credit card issuers often dream of. A few savvy payments companies have found ways to benefit from the daily-deals fad.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. As excerpted from the Comments sections of AmericanBanker.com articles.

We asked American Banker readers and staff members to recommend books that changed the way they think about the financial services industry for bankers to take on their end-of-summer vacations.

Investors get paid when a bank is sold. So do the people that run it. Mergers trigger golden parachutes that are usually worth three times a chief executive's salary. CEOs can liquidate equity stakes they have in their banks, or roll them over into the buyer, too. Here's a rundown of CEO pay in some major deals of the first half. (Source: Proxy statements, the companies)Related Articles: CEO Pay Booms in a Year When Stocks Are a Bust, Top Heavy: CEO Pay to Total Payroll Expenses(Image: Thinkstock)

Google added a virtual card option to its mobile wallet this month, and it's far from the first company to realize that virtual accounts can work where conventional cards just don't cut it.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. As excerpted from the Comments sections of AmericanBanker.com articles.

Banks closed 767 more banks than they have opened in the past 12 months, according to SNL Financial. The following five states accounted for roughly a third of the branches lost in the past year.

Jamie Dimon reshuffled his top lieutenants last week. Here's who switched chairs, and who stayed put, in the latest JPMorgan Chase executive overhaul.

The benefits of labor arbitrage are going away and banks are bringing work to stateside outsourcing providers, for several reasons, says Harley Lippman, CEO of IT staffing firm Genesis10.

The Olympics and other attractions are not just proving grounds for athletes — stadiums, amusement parks and concert halls provide the perfect conditions to test new payment technologies.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. As excerpted from the Comments sections of AmericanBanker.com articles.