Banking

Companies seeking to shield valuable data from criminals and government spying should assume the attackers have already penetrated their systems and adjust defensive strategies, security firms McAfee and Symantec said.

Banks would have to upgrade their systems to accommodate faster transactions, and originating banks would pay the receiving financial institutions a fee to cover those costs, under a plan from Nacha, the industry group that sets ACH rules.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its semi-annual report to Congress. The report includes a review of the complaint process and collection industry rules.

M&T Bancorp in Buffalo, N.Y., has once again delayed its planned purchase of Hudson City Bancorp in Paramus, N.J.

Centrue Financial in Ottawa, Ill., has sold $35.2 million in classified loans and other assets.

John Grayken, the billionaire who made his fortune betting on troubled borrowers, has joined the bidding for Citigroup's subprime-lending arm, OneMain Financial, people familiar with the matter said.

Banks that collect their own debt are certain that the CFPB plans to ratchet up its regulation of their activities. But it's unclear how the CFPB plans to do this, and some question whether the bureau has the authority to do it at all.

Amid huge regulatory pressure to strengthen anti-money-laundering controls, banks are grappling with a shortage of compliance talent.

Fannie said it will immediately begin accepting applications for fixed-rate 97% loan-to-value financing of borrowers with FICO scores as low as 620. Freddie, meanwhile, took a more cautious approach, delaying the start of the program, requiring credit counseling, and in some cases only allowing FICO scores as low as 660.

With some proposals still outstanding, mortgage bond market participants are concerned that eminent domain attempts would spread if a municipality makes inroads with a proposal.

Commonfund, an investment management firm in Wilton, Conn., has hired Catherine Keating as its chief executive.

fTLD Registry Services, an entity originally formed by The Financial Services Roundtable and the American Bankers Association to secure top-level domains for the banking and insurance industries, has contracted Symantec to provide verification for the newly created .bank and .insurance web domains.

Mobile and online banking, security and analytics are expected to dominate IT spending as banks shift resources to growth initiatives and the figurative cost of keeping the lights on drops.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have set terms for letting borrowers put down as little as 3% of a home's cost to get mortgages, a step criticized by Republican lawmakers as a return to risky lending.

Mortgage lending, particularly for bigger banks, cooled some in October as home buying season ended. Meanwhile, loan pricing deteriorated again, showing that lenders are still cutting rates to land the best credits.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a notice last week in the Federal Register proposing a boarding form to streamline how company information is collected.

Many people in Brazil don't have bank accounts-but they do have smartphones. These qualities, in combination with favorable regulations, make the country likely to adopt mobile payments in a big way.

Texas-based collection agency Dyck O’Neal reportedly has filed an estimated 240 deficiency judgment lawsuits in Palm Beach County, Fla. this year, hoping to collect the mortgage debt that remains after foreclosures are processed.