Banking

After years of dabbling with electronic signatures, banks are starting to accept them in branches, wealth management departments and elsewhere.

State Street Corp. said Friday it will shed roughly 630 positions, or 2% of its global work force, in the coming year.

Southwest Bancorp (OKSB) in Stillwater, Okla., reported higher earnings because of lower expenses, fewer loan losses and higher fee revenue.

Northfield Bancorp in Woodbridge, N.J., has completed the stock offering for its conversion to a fully public company.

It seems clear that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau believes balloon mortgages are not abusive or predatory. Why, then, does the rule so restrict their use?

It takes more than 1,000 days for banks to repossess a home in New York, stalling a housing recovery by keeping pressure on values for years to come as a constant drip of distressed properties enter the sales market.

Carver Bancorp in New York has shuffled several managers while creating a new position of president and chief operating officer.

Wintrust Financial (WTFC) announced another small acquisition to expand its operations in Illinois, saying it would buy First Lansing Bancorp, which has seven branches, $370 million in assets and $325 million in deposits.

Higher costs weighed on UMB Financial (UMBF) in Kansas City, Mo., in the fourth quarter. Earnings at the $14.9 billion-asset company fell 9.4% from a year earlier, to $21.1 million.

Higher costs offset revenue gains at Community Bank System (CBU) in Syracuse, N.Y., in the fourth quarter. Earnings at the $7.5 billion-asset company fell roughly 1% from a year earlier, to $18.8 million.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – First Carolina Corporate CU has signed with LendingTools.com to deploy the company’s Correspondent Gateway, providing member credit unions with ACH origination, management and processing services.

Preferred Bank in Los Angeles blamed its lower fourth-quarter profits on tax-related items.

PNC Financial (PNC) is teaming with one of the nation's top business schools to foster innovation in the financial industry.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council proposed Tuesday social media guidance for financial services players.

HSBC (HBC) has promoted the head of its American arm to the company's top executive team.

Naftali Bennett, co-founder of security firm Cyota, heads the Jewish Home Party slate in Israel's parliamentary elections.

The Columbus, Ga., company reported higher quarterly earnings, helped by a $800 million deferred tax asset, and quieted M&A talk for now.

PremierWest Bancorp (PRWT) in Medford, Ore., took a loss in the fourth quarter as it sought to remove dead wood from its balance sheet.

Mobile commerce is becoming more diverse and reliant on proximity payments, requiring banks to dust off their merchant strategies, a Forrester study concludes.