Banking

U.S. Bancorp Investments, the brokerage affiliate of U.S. Bank, is reaping the benefits of a major makeover that began soon after William Benjamin joined the firm as its CEO almost five years ago.

BankUnited (BKU) in Miami Lakes, Fla., reported solid growth in interest income as it began its expansion into the New York City market.

They may look ridiculous, but phablets and superphones — mini tablets and extra-large phones — have a bright future, according to research released today by Transparency Market Research.

Consumer advocate Jennifer Openshaw is launching a new company that offers financial advisors a platform in which to build social media communities, with some compliance features built in.

A number of community banks reported higher noninterest expenses in the first quarter as they sought out ways to book more loans and charge more fees.

Wage costs offshore are on the rise. Local talent is available in abundance and the growing popularity of digital channels has created ample cost-reduction opportunities at home.

Bank of Marin Bancorp in Novato, Calif., is looking for a chief financial officer.

Jacksonville Bancorp (JAXB) in Florida has made Donald Glisson its chairman.

Citi is adding a finance tool to its CitiDirect BE Mobile platform that will let suppliers check up on the status of incoming payments.

Money transmitter licensing requirements, know-your-customer rules and other requirements create high costs and barriers to entry for new players in the payments field, says Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion. It's dubious that all the red tape is beneficial or necessary for payment accounts with small balances, he argues.

Nebulous security challenge questions like, "Who's the best man in your life?" have got to go.

Rurban, a $641 million-asset company, has renamed itself SB Financial Group and will trade under the stock symbol "SBFG" starting on Wednesday.

Triumph Bancorp in Dallas has agreed to National Bancshares in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Wells Fargo, led by John Stumpf, took more heat from protestors at its annual meeting even as it defeated a call for an independent review of its mortgage modifications.

New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) reported quarterly earnings that were relatively flat from a year earlier.

Mobile point of sale systems could expand card acceptance by adding as much as 19 million merchants, resulting in a potential $1.1 trillion uptick in annual card payments, Javelin Strategy and Research says in a new report.

MortgageKeeper Referral Services has introduced an online service to make it easier for homeowners to find assistance after a natural disaster.

BTN editors scoured their notebooks and identified six financial technology startups with strong products that are acquiring funding and, we think, will soon acquire more customers and bank partnerships.

The merchants chosen to speak at Nacha's Payments 2013 conference didn't waste lot of time before swinging away at the expectation that they start accepting EMV-chip cards in the near future.

Braintree Inc., a small mobile payment vendor founded in 2007, has attracted employees and board members from some of the biggest technology companies. Its recruits say the young company promises a more dynamic environment than the industry giants can provide.