Retail & Commercial

JPMorgan Chase chairman Jes Staley is joining the hedge fund BlueMountain Capital as a managing partner. He will be responsible for developing client relationships and will help direct the firm's strategy.

Consolidation among bank dealmakers continues as Houlihan Lokey acquires Milestone Advisors. The combined firm has 28 bank M&A advisors and will try to hire more amid upheaval in investment banking.

In North America, QR code-based mobile payment apps from Starbucks and LevelUp generate a code for each user, and the merchant scans the code to accept a payment. In Brazil, PicPay is flipping the model and making the consumer scan codes presented by the merchant.

The Charlotte bank says Monday's settlement is a significant step toward resolving its crisis-era woes, but other legal risks — particularly in connection with private-label mortgages — remain.

Union Bank will close 15 branches in central and southern California, including some locations recently acquired from Pacific Capital Bancorp.

A "simplified" foreclosure review settlement is in borrowers' best interests, even though details remain sketchy, officials from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency argued Monday.

Consumers who face foreclosure on their homes, who would like to modify terms of their mortgages or whose homes are underwater, now have a toll-free telephone number they can call to connect with a counselor who may be able to help.

This bad loan was a unique case of vanity and all-pervasive incompetence on the part of both the banker and a movie producer turned real estate developer.

JPMorgan Chase, the nation's biggest bank by assets, said Monday it would inaugurate a new office, which is located in San Jose, with celebrations at both the branch in San Jose and another that the bank opened recently in San Francisco.

Cornerstone Bancshares in Chattanooga, Tenn., has raised $15 million to bolster its capital reserves.