LONDON - HSBC Holdings PLC will shutter its fund administration business in the U.S. and shift it to Ireland in one of the global bank's latest moves to control costs and refocus its sprawling business, people familiar with the matter said this week.

FTN Financial, the investment-banking arm of First Tennessee Bank, announced Wednesday that it has acquired Main Street Capital Advisors LLC, a boutique consulting firm that specializes in advising state and local governments.

Several banks recaptured deferred tax assets in the fourth quarter, regaining an asset they had to remove from balance sheets as quarterly losses piled up during the financial crisis. Banks that are reclaiming these assets have been able to boost capital levels.

The Minneapolis bank has agreed to buy a trust business from Union Bank. That is its third deal in less than a week.

As banks continue to shed their private equity portfolios for regulatory and other reasons, PNC spin-off Incline raises money for a new investment fund and continues to work with its former owner.

Losses at Florida Community Bank narrowed in the fourth quarter after the Miami bank trimmed overhead by cutting 10% of its workforce.

The fact of the matter is that banks can manipulate earnings, and consequently capital, through decisions about loss provisioning.

With two of its largest investors pressuring it to find a buyer, First California Financial Group Inc. in Westlake Village has hired an unnamed investment bank to help it explore its options.

With six acquisitions under its belt and a seventh in the works, the Los Angeles company strikes again with a deal for Phoenix business bank.

Familiar merger concepts are blowing up at a time when branch networks are being relegated to more of a supportive role.

Exchange operators Deutsche Boerse AG and NYSE Euronext Wednesday said the European Union has informed them of its decision to prohibit the planned $17 billion combination.

Legislators in California on Tuesday pushed through tougher regulations for the collection industry, approving a bill opponents say will create an unfair burden on debt buyers by requiring excessive documentation and restricting legitimate collection efforts.

The regulatory nod that allowed prepaid card company Green Dot to buy a bank marked a culmination of founder Steve Streit's rocky, years-long effort to move from the profitable fringes of banking into the mainstream.

IMGCAP(1)]

CenterState Bank in Winter Haven, Fla., bought a failed bank Friday. John Corbett, the head of CenterState, hired the target's new CEO months ago. He has used that philosophy several times to expand — and doesn't plan to stop there.

Many blame the current banking industry malaise on the economy. Its problems, however, involve deeper structural issues.

GE Capital has agreed to run the toy retailer's consumer credit card program and buy $900 million of its card assets from JPMorgan Chase & Co. Expect more deals like it this year.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced two enforcement actions against two banks, the Bank of Bartlett in Tennessee and Capitol City Bancshares Inc. in Atlanta.

MountainOne Financial Partners in North Adams, Mass., is merging two of its thrifts under one charter in an effort to become more efficient.

First Mariner Bancorp Inc. in Baltimore said that its fourth-quarter loss narrowed slightly from a year earlier.