Retail & Commercial

Abolish the public/private hybrid model of Fannie and Freddie, sell or liquidate their businesses, and privatize the mortgage market. This can be done in an orderly way in a few easy steps.

As VeriFone Systems Inc. seeks new leadership to help it tackle its ongoing challenges, smaller rivals are looking at their own operations to determine which opportunities to seize in the payments hardware market.

First PacTrust Bancorp (BANC) in Irvine, Calif., is delaying the filing of its annual report after switching auditors and seeing several top executives leave in recent months.

LNB Bancorp in Lorain, Ohio, has retired a large chunk of its bailout money by offering its owners common stock.

Enterprise said Tuesday that its banking subsidiary has reached a deal to buy Gorman & Gorman Home Loans, a division of F&M Bank and Trust in Hannibal, Mo.

The Buffalo, N.Y. company has struggled to gain traction from last year's purchase of more than 100 HSBC branches.

With branches becoming more like expensive billboards, banks are searching for lower-cost ways to maintain visibility in existing markets and raise their profiles in newer ones.

First Niagara (FNFG) in Buffalo, N.Y. is looking for a permanent chief executive following the abrupt departure of John Koelmel.

Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, all but begged lawmakers on Tuesday to begin the process of reforming the nation's housing finance system, saying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been in conservatorship for far too long.

The European banks that own Visa Europe are reportedly considering selling the entity to U.S.-based Visa Inc. to clear the way for an eventual rival system in Europe.