Retail & Commercial

As banks dig deeper into mobile commerce, they’ll likely bump into industries like telecom and device manufacturing, where the development cycles and patent fights come much faster.

If large retailers felt a need to create their own mobile commerce brand through the Merchant Customer Exchange to lessen customer confusion and control transaction data, then smaller retailers must also feel overwhelmed with all of the mobile payment and commerce choices available.Starting Dec. 10, San Francisco-based CardFree hopes to address that problem as a new company helping merchants develop their own custom-branded mobile commerce tools.

MainSource Financial Group (MSFG) in Greensburg, Ind., has retired another chunk of the equity it originally issued in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

City National Bank in Los Angeles has hired two Comerica Bank veterans who cater to high-tech and biotech clients.

Two troubled banks were sold through bankruptcy auctions this month, and another is expected next week. The much-discussed recapitalization method has only recently gained traction.

Senator-elect Heidi Heitkamp may be the next in line to join the Senate Banking Committee.

Comptroller Tom Curry said the agency has worked to address several concerns from staff after a recent survey — the first being stepping up internal communications by senior management.

Michael Larrowe, promoted to CEO of Cardinal Bankshares after a shareholder revolt capped a chaotic past year, is working to rebuild the company and its ties to the community.

Capital One Financial (COF) has raided rival SunTrust Banks (STT) to help bolster its small-business lending team.

More than half of consumers in seven technology-advanced countries say they are interested in mobile payments. But the U.S. doesn’t crack the list of the top four countries in which residents say they’d consider replacing their plastic payment cards with mobile phones.