Banking

When consumer groups sent mystery shoppers into big-bank branches to learn about overdraft coverage, they were given information that was incomplete, confusing or flat-out wrong, according to a new report.

Second-quarter earnings at the country's largest mortgage banks met analyst expectations, according to a recent report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Bond investors are demanding to be paid more to potentially bear losses on mortgages guaranteed by Freddie Mac as risk-sharing notes that were sold earlier by the firm and competitor Fannie Mae slump.

The senior officer loan survey, which is released by the Fed every three months, asked both large U.S. banks and foreign banks about the effect the new ability-to-pay and qualified mortgage rules were having on approval rates for various types of home purchase loans.

The Department of Homeland Security has sounded an alarm about Backoff, a relatively new type of malware. The warning was directed mainly at retailers' point-of-sale networks, but banks are also susceptible.

P.F. Chang's has provided an update on the data breach it disclosed in June, revealing that the incident affected 33 restaurants with a specific timeframe for each location.

Authentify is unveiling an extension to its mobile device-based authentication software.

New York's banking regulator asked Ocwen Financial for information about an insurance agreement that it says may be designed to funnel fees to an affiliate for minimal work.

First Commerce Credit Union in Tallahassee, Fla., has agreed to buy First National Bank of Crestview in Florida.

Severn Bancorp in Annapolis, Md., has reported a loss for the second quarter, following a revision to its initial quarterly results.

NorthStar Bank once relied on its investment portfolio to drive revenue. It recently changed course, targeting loans and customers in search of a better future.

Carolina Alliance Bank in Spartanburg, S.C., has agreed to buy the operations of a local commercial leasing office.

Digital channels are not strategies in and of themselves, writes Kevin Tynan. In fact, three important customer groups are unlikely to be swayed by mass emails and pay-per-click advertising.

Several hundred thousand dollars in loans have gone uncollected by the small-business lending arm of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, with more than half of its loans seriously delinquent, according to an internal audit.

City officials in Tuscaloosa, Ala. are reviewing whether to hire an outside debt collection agency to pursue outstanding parking ticket fines and penalties from stop light violations.

MutualBank in Muncie, Ind., said it has closed the acquisition of Summit Mortgage, in Fort Wayne.

IMGCAP(1)]

Bank of the Ozarks' deal to buy Intervest Bancshares looks a bit odd on paper because the two are very different and operation in different of parts of the country. However, Intervest would give Ozarks a commercial lending niche it lacks.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, plans to lay off nearly 200 employees, as part of an internal reorganization.

Green Dot will eliminate its MoneyPak reload cards, which have been targeted by scammers, and instead will let consumers reload prepaid accounts at the point of sale, its top executive said this week.