Banking

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said it's under federal criminal investigation for practices tied to sales of mortgage-backed bonds that the Justice Department has already concluded broke civil laws.

First Citizens Bancshares (FCNCA) turned stronger credit quality, higher mortgage income and lower foreclosure costs into a 17% gain in profits last quarter.

First M&F (FMFC) in Kosciusko, Miss., revised its second-quarter results, turning previously reported earnings into a loss.

Amid a small wave of cloud computing announcements this week, systems integrator CSC is expanding the cloud computing options it offers banks and other companies.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said the Justice Department concluded the firm broke federal laws while handling mortgage-backed securities.

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (KFFB) in Hazard has received regulatory approval to pay a 10-cent dividend to its public shareholders.

Pressure is mounting for bank regulators to dial back pending mortgage rules after President Obama said he's worried the housing market could become too constrained by "overlapping regulations."

A federal judge ruled that bitcoins are “a currency or form of money” and therefore subject to relevant U.S. laws in a case against a Texas man accused of creating a fraudulent Bitcoin hedge fund.

Freddie Mac's top lawyer threatened to file suit against municipalities that attempt to use eminent domain to refinance underwater mortgages.

Even as policymakers plot its demise, Fannie is raising the prices it pays to community lenders for mortgage loans — outbidding large-bank aggregators like Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

In a Web chat with Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, Obama said he'll urge Congress to act on a reform package to wind down Fannie and Freddie and place housing on a "more stable footing," but also give homeowners "a chance to refinance while interest rates are still low."

A report from the Ponemon Institute finds the average cost of a data breach is $9.4 million.

Technologies like webcasts, email, instant messages and cloud sharing are making it harder to maintain confidentiality and attorney-client privilege in deal negotiations.

Wells Fargo (WFC) is laying off 763 employees in its Home Mortgage division.

Bankers are pressing ahead with sales of nonperforming commercial loans, and debt collectors are buying them up, even though regulatory pressure has slowed or halted the unloading of bad consumer loans.

Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut is attempting the same transition that scores of other banks have completed in the last year, purging past mistakes in an effort to concentrate more on expansion.

GAHANNA, Ohio – Fast-growing KEMBA Financial CU said it plans to add as many as five new branches in the next few years, as it grows to meet an expanded field of membership.

Cardtronics' purchase of Cardpoint Ltd. in Europe helps the Houston-based ATM operator expand into more of the U.K. and enter Germany, two countries whose populations rely more heavily on cash.

Nothing shows a banker or financier has arrived like having a prominent architectural edifice named after him. Some who've enjoyed such distinction have gone on to garner public attention for far less flattering matters, including serious legal troubles. Here's a look at prominent figures, and institutions, that fit the profile.

The decline of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could usher in a mortgage renaissance for community banks facilitated by their natural partner, the Federal Home Loan Bank System.