Banking

With the market starting to value banks on their earnings rather than their book values, buyers are looking for deals that will prop up their bottom lines over the long term and are willing to pay more.

HSBC, Europe's largest lender, said possible damages from a lawsuit filed by a U.S. regulator over improperly sold mortgage-backed securities could cost the bank as much as $1.6 billion.

The Federal Reserve Board's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey said credit conditions are improving for commercial and industrial loans but standards remain tight on mortgages and consumer debt.

Deutsche Bank launched software Monday to help treasury clients better manage their suppliers and receivables.

Blue Hills Bank in Boston is buying a New England franchise from Sovereign Bank.

With banks evolving as mobile app and site developers, they need to pay more attention to performance and handle developing and testing the way the software companies do.

Noninterest expenses remain persistently high at community banks as a need to pursue revenue undermines efforts to aggressively make cuts.

Tech vendor Linedata announced an updated loan origination and risk management platform, Linedata CapitalStream.

SunTrust Banks (STI) in Atlanta has committed $5 billion to funding commercial mortgages originated by MetLife (MET).

The $22.5 billion Structured Agency Credit Risk transaction serves its purpose, but shows how much more work and thinking needs to be done to redesign the housing finance system.

CardHub has launched a social networking site for personal finance called WalletHub, which allows users to review financial services companies, compare fees and get personalized financial news.

A Bitcoin conference in New York last week drew a motley crowd. There were the expected wide-eyed believers in the digital currency, earnest entrepreneurs building Bitcoin-related businesses, and somewhat more skeptical venture capitalists — but also traditional banking lawyers and anti-money laundering compliance consultants whose services are in hot demand. Startup executives complained about the difficulty of getting (or keeping) bank accounts and state money transmitter licenses. But the technology shows great promise and demonstrates that it is possible to send money as fast and as cheaply as email, even if banks running on legacy systems cannot.

Harland Clarke, the world's biggest check printer, reported that second-quarter losses increased to $22.8 million amid costs related to the billionaire Ronald Perelman taking the company private a year ago.

The feature presents a win-win scenario for banks and their customers as well as an opportunity for mobile-centric financial startups that can serve as the catalyst for widespread adoption.

Fifth Third (FITB) in Cincinnati is selling $85 million worth of shares of Vantiv, its former subsidiary.

Patapsco Bancorp (PATD) in Baltimore has appointed Phil Phillips its new chief executive after recording a quarterly loss.

Fans of Major League baseball are familiar with Citi Field (New York), Comerica Park (Detroit), Chase Field (Phoenix) and PNC Park (Pittsburgh). But they might not have heard of the many minor league ballparks named after banks. From BB&T Park - home of the Winston-Salem Dash - to Whitaker Bank Park in Lexington, Ky., here's a sampling of minor league venues at which banks own the naming rights.

Suffolk Bancorp (SUBK) in Riverhead, N.Y., will record a pretax gain of nearly $4 million in the third quarter after selling shares in Visa.

Hanmi Financial (HAFC) in Los Angeles has hired Bonita Lee, a recently departed executive from BBCN Bancorp (BBCN), as its chief operating officer.