Ally, the former lending arm of General Motors, reported earnings of $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter after a $206 million loss a year earlier.

Buying a distressed loan isn't usually considered similar to trolling for discounted airfare.

Kind words by Stewart McClure, the head of Somerset Hills Bancorp, for Kevin Cummings, the CEO of rival Investors Bancorp, are part of a mutual admiration society budding in New Jersey banking.

Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty said Monday that a U.S. Bancorp unit is a lender to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a U.K.-based research facility that helps makers of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, cosmetics and other products assess the safety of their wares.

Terminations of bank deals have dramatically slowed since 2009, when a third of the announced deals were called off. Still, buyers should give regulators a heads-up and leave ample time to finalize details.

The CEO of the country's largest bank sounded off once again, admitting mistakes and waving the banner for banks on Monday in Miami.

TrustAtlantic Bank has agreed to buy a branch from fellow North Carolina lender Harrington Bank.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended February 2.

Capitol Bancorp in Lansing, Mich., has moved a step closer to selling a troubled unit in New Mexico.

With success in many markets riding on innovative technology, banks are turning to the tricky game of venture investing.

Barclays announced Sunday that two of its top executives will step down in the coming months. The London-based bank said that Chris Lucas, its chief financial officer, and Mark Harding, its general counsel, have agreed to remain in their jobs until the bank can identify their successors.

Unifund has named Robert Schofield as its new vice president, Strategic Alliances.

Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to buy a credit card portfolio from Quad City Bank & Trust.

The Illinois Attorney General's Office reports it generated more than $1.1 billion in state revenue through litigation and collection efforts last year.

Promontory Interfinancial Network is adding Bank Assetpoint to its suite of products, a service designed to be a one-stop shop for bankers and real estate investors to exchange loans and REO.

U.S. Century Bank, the nation's largest undercapitalized bank, is close to a deal that would give a controlling stake to local investors.

FirstMerit's Sandra Pierce has two tough jobs. Overseeing the bank's expansion into her home state of Michigan, while leading the financial advisory board picked to rescue its biggest city.

TowneBank in Suffolk, Va., has acquired The Clement Companies, an insurance agency in Greenville, N.C.

James Abbott, recently named the best investor relations professional for mid-cap banks, understands what analysts need to know about Zions because he used to be one of them.

DBA International is currently in the process of performing an in-depth review the 162-page report issued by the Federal Trade Commission entitled “The Structure and Practices of the Debt Buying Industry.”