Retail & Commercial

Citigroup Inc. on May 15 rolled out its ninth cobranded rewards credit card with longtime card-issuing partner American Airlines Inc.

Two former executives at Oxford Collection Agency each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering and one count of wire fraud stemming from a $10 million fraud scheme against Connecticut-based Webster Bank, federal officials said Tuesday.

Inspired by rock bank REO Speedwagon, the North Carolina Bankers Association has created a website where banks – and only banks – can market real estate-owned properties directly to consumers.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Elizabeth Duke outlined a number of factors — such as the mortgage servicer settlement, the huge number of underwater borrowers and the failure to reform the GSEs — that are working to limit mortgage credit to healthy borrowers.

Bradley S. Everly, the chief financial officer at the ailing Orrstown Financial Services in Shippensburg, Pa., has resigned after 14 years on the job.

CEOs at smaller banks have mixed views about the shocking $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase. Some view it as justification for regulating small banks differently than bigger institutions, while others viewed the fallout as yet another assault on their industry.

Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut swung to a loss in the quarter that ended March 31 following its discovery that it had been underpaying interest on certain customers’ certificate-of-deposit accounts.

Canada’s Competition Bureau, an independent law-enforcement agency set up to ensure the country’s businesses and consumers are treated fairly, is seeking to remove some Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide rules regarding merchants’ ability to offer alternatives to credit card use and interchange.

Virtual currency is prevalent in gaming, where users can deploy credits to continue using favorite social games or to buy virtual goods and powerups. But that's likely just the start. According to several market reports, virtual commerce is a $2.2 billion industry that's projected to grow to a whopping $6 billion in fewer than five years.

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