Bank technology

Bankers say that this is the year when they hope to get a look at how, or whether, consumers are using mobile banking services.

The recent downturn in the housing market has exposed certain weaknesses in mortgage credit risk models' ability to make accurate credit loss forecasts. Considering the significant volume of securities backed by subprime mortgage loans, and their diffusion throughout the global economy, these events have had a dramatic impact on global credit markets and on the financial institutions holding these assets.

RLR Capital Partners GP LLC, a New York activist shareholder, has increased its stake in Hypercom Corp.

Synovus Financial Corp. said Monday that it had completed its spinoff of the transaction processor Total System Services Inc., as planned.

Alipay hopes to boost its transaction volume among affluent consumers in China by promoting its namesake online payment service as a payment option to online retailers in North America.

VeriFone Holdings Inc. does not expect to meet its self-imposed deadline of mid-January to file its delayed earnings reports for its fiscal year that ended Oct. 31.

Sales of self-service checkout systems are likely to increase NCR Corp.'s earnings this year, according to a research note published Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve Board said Wednesday that it will stop offering check processing services by the end of March at its Utica, N.Y., site under a plan that officials announced last June.

Zions Bancorp. says it is finding some success with its unconventional strategy of auctioning certificates of deposit through its Web site.

The table lists daily composite stock prices at 4 PM (unless otherwise noted) as measured by market capitalization.

For bankers whose New Year's resolution is to target customers more precisely, technology is providing them tools for identifying prospects and serving them with more finely tuned offerings.

Apple Inc. may be developing a purchasing system to work with its popular iPhones.

Just before Thanksgiving, the U.K.'s department of revenue and customs announced it had lost personal records of 25 million citizens with information including names, addresses, insurance account numbers, and bank accounts. That's right, bank accounts for nearly half the British citizenry.

Computer Services Inc., a Paducah, Ky., provider of core processing and item processing services, has expanded an ongoing stock purchase plan.

The Arlington, Tex., lender First Cash Financial Services Inc. has agreed to use AT&T Inc.'s domestic and international networking services.

Call it the power of persistence.