Banking

The U.S. Postal Service's inspector general said Friday that it is seeking proposals from outside groups about possible postal banking services.

A proposal to improve the way online banking information is shared with data aggregators has sparked a debate over a decades-old practice.

BBVA Compass is planning to direct $11 billion to lower-income communities. The $76 billion-asset company’s pledge includes $6.2 billion to small businesses and $1.8 billion in community development loans.

The state that forged a middle ground on payday lending serves as both a potential model and a warning sign for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Borrowers must have other factors such as housing counseling, stronger credit histories, or lower debt to income ratios to qualify for new low-down-payment loans, said FHFA Director Mel Watt.

Banks on opposite coasts — Sterling Bancorp in New York and Banner in Washington — are joining the list of institutions teetering on the $10 billion-asset threshold where a slew of new regulation kicks in. The banks' CEOs said they were finally able to peg the expected costs of reaching that size.

Hilltop Holdings in Dallas has disclosed that its mortgage unit is under federal investigation in connection with underwriting practices for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.

Hanmi Financial in Los Angeles reported higher quarterly earnings as organic loan growth and an acquisition offset significant margin pressure.

Debt buyer Encore Capital Group Inc. reported Thursday that total revenues in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 increased 16% to a record $273.3 million, compared to $235.6 million in the year-ago period.

Every day, debt collectors deal with people who have found themselves in tough and sensitive financial situations.

Three Colorado law firms accused of inflating foreclosure costs charged to homeowners and padding bills with unauthorized expenses agreed Thursday to settle lawsuits filed by outgoing Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.

Disaffected big bank customers are looking for a reason to switch. Community banks and credit unions should take advantage of this opportunity with a collective ad campaign that positions their institutions as friendly, helpful and morally upright alternatives to major lenders.

U.S. and European agencies shut down 410 hidden web domains, arrested 17 suspects and seized bitcoins worth about $1 million in a joint operation targeting the Tor network, which allows people to use the Internet anonymously.

Home Depot, which suffered a data breach between April and September, said 53 million e-mail addresses were taken by hackers during the attack, in addition to the 56 million payment cards that were previously disclosed.

JPMorgan Chase said it's on track to eliminate 3,000 more jobs this year than previously forecast in its mortgage and credit-card divisions.

A Minnesota process serving company and one of its process servers are charged with falsely claiming some people were served with debt collection lawsuits, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.

Ocwen Financial is making progress to settle allegations against it, but that does not mean it will be cheap, one analyst says. The current servicing freeze in the industry has grown so serious that some say it may be delaying the government’s goals to expand the availability of mortgage credit.

Fidelity Southern in Atlanta has agreed to buy deposits and loans from Florida Capital Bank.

MasterCard has agreed to buy the merchant payments unit of Transaction Network Services in Reston, Va.,a deal that would expand the e-commerce services offered by DataCash, MasterCard's payment processing subsidiary.

The City of Providence, R.I., has dropped its lawsuit against Santander Bank, over charges the bank deliberately failed to provide mortgages in minority communities.