U.S. Bancorp recently began offering paperless account opening after seeing good results from electronically signed and documented lending. Yet a large segment of the industry still hesitates to use this technology, for legal, technical and cultural reasons.

Lateral moves can be a way for women in banking to expand their knowledge base and make themselves more appealing candidates for upper management positions, according to the head of TD Bank's consumer bank Nandita Bakhshi.

It is a bold claim: Banks could potentially originate 300,000 more home loans per quarter without taking on too much more risk.

A final judgment against Bank of America in a mortgage-bond lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission was signed by a federal judge, helping clear the way for the lender to complete a $16.7 billion global settlement of claims it misled investors about risk.

Outstanding household debt rose by $78 billion in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, to $11.71 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly Household Debt and Credit Report.

New York families victimized by scams such as false promises of loan modifications lose an average of $4,187 per household, 27% higher than the national average of $3,296.

Banco del Pacifico has announced plans to deploy two types of automated teller machines to help serve the underbanked in Ecuador.

Banks could originate 300,000 more home loans per quarter and face only a slightly higher risk of default, according to a new report. But lenders are unlikely to loosen lending standards until they are sure that Fannie, Freddie and the FHA have eased up on buyback requests.

Consumer confidence fell in November, interrupting a steady rise in sentiment, but Americans still indicated plans to spend more, according to the Conference Board. The conflict clouds the trickle down expectations for the collection business.

Webster Financial in Waterbury, Conn., has received regulatory approval to acquire the health savings account business of JPMorgan Chase.

TIO Networks has secured a patent that allows the bill payment processor to conduct change-based transactions on reverse automated teller machines.

Diebold reached an agreement with Banco del Pacifico to deploy automated teller machines in Ecuador.

First Foundation Bank in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy Pacific Rim Bank in Honolulu.

Account Control Technology Inc. has donated to Susan G. Komen, a nonprofit organization that works to end breast cancer in the U.S. and throughout the world by supporting research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 30 countries.

Two community banks recently were permitted to transfer cash to their holding companies. It could be a sign that regulators are changing their attitudes toward such payments now that banks have healthier capital levels.

Bank of Bird-in-Hand in Pennsylvania has hired a president and chief executive.

Liberty Bell Bank in Marlton, N.J., has appointed a new chief executive as it continues to work through credit issues.

After years of shedding debt, consumers are relying more on nonhousing credit to increase their purchasing power, according to a report from the New York Fed.

The Federal Reserve said it plans to oversee General Electric Co.'s finance unit in a similar manner to the way it supervises large bank-holding companies.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will let borrowers who have gone through foreclosure buy back their homes at market prices under a policy shift announced by the regulator for the two U.S.-owned companies.