Retail & Commercial

Two payments technology veterans are working on a mobile wallet that would not require changes to the hardware and software at the point of sale.

The federal government is now even more involved in the design, pricing, allocation and servicing of home mortgage credit than during the subprime lending debacle. Current proposals that call for government involvement would further entrench this situation.

Bank of America (BAC) has agreed to pay the bond insurer MBIA $1.6 billion to settle a five-year-old dispute over losses related to soured mortgage-backed securities, according to news reports.

Bibb Lamar opted to join ServisFirst rather than stay at Trustmark, which acquired BancTrust in February. His team will help ServisFirst expand in Mobile, Ala.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Monday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must restrict future mortgage purchases to "qualified mortgage" loans.

The Independent BankersBank in Dallas has hired a correspondent-relations officer to serve community banks in Michigan and Indiana.

Discover Financial Services and Network International, a Middle Eastern payment provider, have formed a strategic alliance to allow cross border card acceptance.

When experiments in lending are properly organized and priced, they can be successful for borrowers and lenders of all income groups, even in tough times.

The CEO of UMB Financial believes the time has come to rethink branch technology, to speed service and cut costs.

Vincent Delie recently mentioned Maryland, Pittsburgh and Cleveland as target markets, though he expressed lukewarm interest in Philadelphia.