Retail & Commercial

Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial unit is asking a judge to throw out claims for "billions of dollars" in damages by the Federal Housing Finance Agency for mortgage-backed securities bought by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

A government program that lets small-business owners refinance commercial mortgages is set to expire next week, but supporters are hopeful that Congress will revisit it after the November elections.

A few years after a pair of high-profile failures pared their ranks and damaged their credibility, bankers' banks are seeking to overcome weak loan demand by becoming trusted advisors to small institutions.

Groupon is the latest of many companies to provide merchants with a card reader that clips to smartphones. But the daily-deals company is not simply selling a me-too device — it is planting the seeds of a bigger payments strategy.

Robert T. Isham, who has a private practice in nearby Lake Bluff, succeeded Willard Bunn 3rd as the board's new leader, the bank said on Wednesday.

Orrstown Financial Services (ORRF) is in the market for a new chief operating officer, adding to the list of vacated posts at the struggling company.

A federal judge has thwarted efforts by African-American consumers to proceed with a class-action lawsuit against Option One Mortgage in which the plaintiffs alleged that they were charged higher fees on home loans than white borrowers were.

Every consumer should have access to a low-cost, full service bank account that helps them make necessary payments, manage cash flow and avoid ancillary fees.

A law firm that won an $8.5 billion settlement from Bank of America tied to faulty mortgage bonds said Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley failed to service $73 billion of similar securities.

Lynn Harton has held key titles at South Financial, Regions Financial and BB&T. As South Financial's CEO, he helped orchestrate the South Carolina company's sale to TD Bank.