Retail & Commercial

Banks have ramped up foreclosure activity in the past five months, with default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions at their highest levels in two years. It's a positive sign that banks are finally clearing out all the distressed loans still lingering from the housing crisis. Meanwhile, banks remain cautious about new lending, partly because of regulatory actions.

Bank repossessions of distressed homes hit a 30-month high in July, as financial institutions continue to work through the backlog of bubble-era loans.

Planters Holding in Indianola, Miss., has agreed to buy Covenant Financial in Clarksdale, Miss.

There's nothing like a natural disaster to make people realize how important insurance is to the banking industry.

Bank repossessions of distressed homes hit a 30-month high in July, as financial institutions continue to work through the backlog of bubble-era loans.

While in talks to buy National Penn Bancshares, BB&T circulated an email to help key executives understand Pennsylvania’s prominent cultural and religious groups.

Discover Financial Services topped peers in a J.D. Power credit-card customer satisfaction ranking, ousting American Express Co. from the No. 1 spot for the first time in the survey's nine years.

Horicon Bank in Horicon, Wis., has agreed to acquire a branch in Fond du Lac, Wis., from Baraboo National Bank.

Market Street Bancshares in Mount Vernon, Ill., has completed a $15 million debt offering.

Discover Financial Services topped peers in a J.D. Power credit-card customer satisfaction ranking, ousting American Express from the No. 1 spot for the first time in the survey's nine years.