Banking

IP Commerce Inc., a startup backed by Venrock Inc. and Intel Corp.'s venture-capital arm, is shutting its key business, which handles credit-card processing for companies including Groupon Inc., citing competition.

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., will close roughly a fifth of its branches as investors press management to cut costs.

Charge Anywhere LLC will have gateway software available when small U.S. merchants need to accept EMV-chip card payments with their smartphones.

For at least the second time this spring, divisions of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group were affected by a mobile banking outage caused by an IT glitch.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

The introduction of a new $100 bill is still five months away, but it's not too soon for banks and ATM manufacturers to begin preparing for its rollout.

Banks have been blaming one another for recklessly chasing business loans. Data on portfolio yields and growth offers perspective on which ones are being the most aggressive.

Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) in Little Rock, Ark., is constructing a regional headquarters in Florida.

Updates to DeviceAnywhere Enterprise are designed to simplify the mobile testing process.

Blaze Mobile is developing a new Near Field Communication mobile phone attachment that attempts to build a more open mobile wallet by allowing consumers to choose from a series of payment accounts.

American Banker editors discuss the prospects for reducing the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in housing finance and the obstacles a pullback would face.

Talbot Bank in Easton, Md., has signed a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and its state regulator, effective Friday.

Bank of America (BAC) is seeking buyers for about 40 branches in New York and Pennsylvania, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

Sharp bookkeepers could spot a kite in progress, but, more often than not, they were too hurried to give the ledgers a second look.

Bankers Bank Northeast in Glastonbury, Conn., has hired a former Home Loan bank executive to be its next chief.

First Niagara Financial (FNFG) in Buffalo, N.Y., has reportedly reached a severance agreement with John Koelmel, who was ousted as chief executive in March.

Believe GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt when he says banks are unlikely to try to buy his consumer finance unit. Few banks could afford the huge business, and regulators would never allow them to buy it, market watchers say.

Fidelity National Financial dominates mortgage underwriting. Its former LPS unit is the top mortgage servicer. The question is whether two companies that have run out of room to grow separately can prosper together.

Technology and compliance firm Compushare has released software meant to improve the security of mobile devices.

Centier Bank in Whiting, Ind., has begun using a card-issuance system from EFT Source, a provider of turnkey card programs.