Retail & Commercial

Stifel Financial Corp. is in discussions to acquire Sterne Agee Group Inc., combining two of the biggest U.S. brokerages outside of New York.

Santander Bank will change its customer screening policies to allow more lower-income applicants to open checking and savings accounts.

The Subsidy Reserve Act of 2015 could solve "too big to fail" and level the playing field for smaller banks by requiring the largest financial institutions to accumulate capital equal to the amount of the market subsidy they receive.

Citigroup Inc. said Manuel Medina-Mora, the bank's co-president and head of global consumer banking, will retire on June 1.

Fannie Mae reported net income of $14.2 billion last year, a sharp decline from the record $84 billion in 2013 that was inflated by accounting for tax credits.

CoBiz Financial in Denver plans to shutter its investment banking unit by the end of March.

If you thought American Express' loss Thursday of a big antitrust case would help its rivals, think again. Visa, MasterCard, and even card-issuing banks could be hurt by the race to lower merchant fees that the ruling will set off.

The chief financial officer of WSFS Financial in Wilmington, Del., is leaving the bank holding company for Seacoast Banking in Stuart, Fla.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will continue its work to ensure credit reports are fair and freely given to consumers, agency director Richard Cordray said Thursday.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The two largest credit unions in Riverside County, Calif., on Thursday announced their intention to merge to create a $1.1 billion institution serving 118,000 members in the "Inland Empire" region of Southern California.