A Chilean bank's plan to keep the Miami bank intact is a better outcome for the market than a sale to an existing regional bidder, industry observers say.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has hired Travis Machen from Morgan Stanley (MS) to run a group that provides banking for financial institutions.

Fidelity National Financial (FNF) announced Tuesday that it acquired Lender Processing Services (LPS), confirming rumors that the two had been making plans to make a deal worth $2.9 billion.

Fidelity National Financial Inc., the largest U.S. title insurer, agreed to acquire its former unit, Lender Processing Services Inc., to expand in the business of providing and analyzing mortgage data.

The State Revenue Office in Victoria, Australia will provide a private collection agency with personal information on up to 36,000 taxpayers as part of a crackdown on debts owed to the state's government.

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Chilean bank Banco de Credito e Inversiones has agreed to buy the $4.7 billion-asset City National Bank of Florida from Spain's Bankia for $882.8 million.

The company plans to place a greater emphasis on commercial banking in cities such as Houston and Jacksonville, Fla.

Higher turnout at annual meetings and new SEC reporting rules are forcing bankers and activist shareholders to spend more time, money swaying voters in proxy fights.

The $225 million-asset Goldthwaite is buying First National Bancshares in Hico, Texas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Investor demand for leveraged loans is so hot that to increase supply lenders are loosening restrictions on refinancing. It's the beginning of a slippery slope, some experts fear.

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

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

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

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.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) in Evansville, Ind., plans to close approximately 10% of its branches in an effort to improve efficiency.

Customers Bancorp sold $103.5 million of common stock in a public offering.

The chief financial officer of Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) in Columbus, Ohio, has left to take the same position at KeyCorp (KEY) in Cleveland.