Wealth management

Raymond James Financial Inc. is closing in on approval of a charter switch that it hopes will let it make more loans.

Fifth Third Bancorp is enjoying growth in its health savings account business after improving its product and expanding its staff. At Sept. 30, the Cincinnati banking company had nearly 55,000 health savings accounts with about $76 million in balances; that was 42% growth in accounts and 28% growth in deposits from a year earlier.

Bank of America Corp. wants to remind everyone that Merrill Lynch & Co. is more than just a sideshow. Trying to move beyond the lawsuits and congressional hearings, Bank of America will finally start using Merrill Lynch & Co. for what it intended when the Charlotte company bought the beleaguered investment bank in January — to develop wealth management products.

Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Irish unit was fined $4.14 million by the country's financial watchdog after it found that traders failed to appropriately value their positions on transactions that lost the company $461 million.

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Fidelity Investments has introduced an online platform for retail investors, broker-dealers and advisers to trade international stocks and exchange foreign currencies.

Russia's Federal Customs Service dropped its $22.5 billion claim against Bank of New York Mellon Corp. on Thursday, ending a two-year legal battle that highlighted the shortcomings of the Russian legal system.

Legg Mason Inc. posted a quarterly profit, reporting fiscal second-quarter earnings above expectations as it deals with sharp declines in year-over-year asset levels.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. swung to a third-quarter profit as the provider of financial planning services posted sharply higher revenue and net investment income.

Logue, 64, has worked for the Boston company for almost two decades. He will continue to serve as non-executive chairman of State Street's board of directors until Jan. 1, 2011.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's European head of wealth management, Eva Castillo, will leave the firm at yearend.

Pacific Investment Management Co., the world's largest bond manager, is considering starting a stock fund unit for the first time in its 38-year history as it expands its lineup of products, a person familiar with the firm's plans said.

Lighter-than-anticipated trading hampered results at custody banks in the third quarter and is tempering expectations of a quick recovery.

BlackRock Inc.'s third-quarter profit rose a better-than-expected 46% as the asset-management giant benefited from growth in assets under management and investors' greater risk appetite.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced Tuesday that he is suing State Street Bank and Trust for alleged fraud against the state's two largest pension funds.

As chairman and chief executive of State Street, Ronald Logue's business is asset-servicing and management. These clients are joining in a swell of consolidation expected to gain further momentum.

Life insurance can be an important addition to the array of products offered by licensed bankers, acting as a "protective wrapper" for savings, 529 plans, retirement products and debt.

Jefferies & Co. said Monday that it has hired a team of 17 rates traders and sales representatives in London and Asia as part of a strategy to build a global rates trading business.

HSBC Holdings PLC announced Monday it hired Kaveh Samie as a managing director and head of equities for the Middle East.

Lincoln Financial Group has hired Anant Bhalla as corporate treasurer and head of risk management.