As Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan goes before the board this week to discuss the company's 2012 plan he does so with a brand-new strategy chief in tow — Thong Nguyen.

The U.K. government said it will sell Northern Rock to Virgin Money for £747 million ($1.2 billion) cash, marking a major loss on its investment in the mortgage lender that became a symbol of the financial crisis.

The Treasury and the banking industry would like nothing better than to see more credit unions convert to taxpaying banks. This is hardly going to happen if CUs perceive the OCC as an inhospitable regulator of their mutual form.

NBT Bancorp Inc. in Norwich, N.Y., said late Wednesday that it will acquire Hampshire First Bank in Manchester, N.H.

U.S. banks may get to spend some excess cash on loans or lines of business that European banks will seek to dump. Still, a cloud hangs over the outlook for bank M&A next year.

Charles Schwab Corp. has finalized its purchase of Compliance11 Inc., a Chicago firm that helps securities and investment firms manage their compliance with regulations.

A pair of healthy banks destined to be partners are nearing deadline as investors anxiously wait.

TD Bank says it will add 1,600 jobs in South Carolina in the next three to five years as it builds a regional hub there.

The name of Visa Inc.'s digital wallet understates its ambition for the service. That may turn out to be a smart branding move.

Cheviot Financial in Cheviot, Ohio, said Tuesday that it had received regulatory approval for a stock offering tied to its mutual holding company's proposed mutual-to-stock conversion.

NBH Holdings Corp. in Boston is the latest bank roll-up group to file for an initial public offering so that its stock can be traded on the open markets.

Skip Hageboeck, CEO of City Holding Co., has a clear idea where he wants to go (the I-81 corridor that runs through Virginia) and where he doesn't (the District of Columbia). His pace is slow, one deal every six years, but he's fine with that.

The company's post-BankAtlantic strategy became clearer this week. It is buying a Florida company that serves the vacation and retirement crowd.

Hanmi Financial said it is planning to sell 87.5 million common stock shares at 80 cents a share, using a "substantial portion" of the funds to provide capital to its banking unit and to support growth.

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State Bank Financial Corp. in Atlanta reported that its third-quarter earnings nearly doubled from a quarter earlier, to $17.1 million, due largely to higher accretion on loans covered by loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The City Holding (W.Va.) deal for Virginia Savings was eye-catching for its simplicity, but deals between healthy banks will remain the exception for now.

More banks have sold problem assets to private-equity groups this year, while others unloaded their banks in hopes of unlocking the value in nonperforming assets. Some believe selling bad loans to nonbanks could shore up valuations by removing the challenges of regulatory oversight.

There's no "social mandate from heaven to make automobiles affordable for all," says columnist Andrew Kahr. Yet subprime auto has come out of the crisis unscathed. Unlike mortgage lenders, auto financiers didn't fall prey to the assumption that prices would inexorably rise.

VeriFone took another step in its quest to break free of the constraints of the aging plastic card. The payment terminal company's deal to buy Point, is as much about boosting its technology as boosting its customer relationships.