EMEA

Just weeks after it shook up its executive ranks and suspended efforts to pursue new customers, the New York-based business lender confirmed Friday that it is eliminating dozens of jobs.

Pacific Metro Bank would cater to Chinese-Americans around Atlanta. The application process is worth watching since the group is seeking the first Georgia charter in seven years and would be based in a market where more than 90 banks have failed since 2007.

Colony Bankcorp in Fitzgerald, Ga., has bought back more of its former Troubled Asset Relief Program shares held by private investors.

Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., hired a longtime executive at SunTrust Banks in Atlanta to lead its Southeast operations.

The core-tech vendor Fiserv has agreed to buy Online Banking Solutions in Atlanta.

SmartFinancial in Knoxville, Tenn., has agreed to buy a branch in Tennessee from a division of Atlantic Capital Bank in Atlanta.

Mastercard cardholders in the U.K. will soon have the ability to choose a financing option for scheduled payments when making a purchase at a Verifone point of sale terminal accepting the new application.

Some banks are set to get a fourth-quarter earnings boost from their MSR portfolios, thanks to a sudden spike in yields on Treasury bonds. Add to that the prospect of further rate hikes and the potential dismantling of Basel III, and more banks could be encouraged to re-enter the servicing business.

Zopa is moving away from its longtime status of being a non-bank to apply for a banking license through the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.

SouthCrest Financial Group in Woodstock, Ga., has agreed to sell its only Alabama branches to Guardian Credit Union in Montgomery, Ala.