Special Focus Section: Banking 

BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: January 20, 2012
Tags: Banks, Business, business banking, credit union, focus section, The Daily Record

The Daily Record’s latest Focus Section examines the rise of credit unions in the waked of big bank fees and how competition for business banking is growing among regional and mid-sized banks.

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Citigroup pays $725,000 fine for analyst conflict

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 18, 2012
Tags: bank, citigroup, Citigroup Global Markets, financial industry regulatory authority, fine, FINRA, regulator

WASHINGTON — An industry regulator fined Citigroup Inc. $725,000 for not disclosing conflicts of interest in the bank’s research division.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said Wednesday that Citigroup Global Markets failed to disclose the conflicts in reports that it published between January 2007 and March 2010.
FINRA, which is industry funded, said Citigroup was paid for [...]

Big banks must show break-up plans under new rule

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 17, 2012
Tags: assets, bailout, Bank of America, Banks, Citibank, failing, FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., financial overhaul, home prices, jp morgan chase bank, living wills, PNC Bank, president barack obama, Recession, republicans, Richard Cordray, tests, U.S. Bank, Unemployment, wall street, wells fargo bank

WASHINGTON — The largest U.S. banks must show how they would break up their assets if they were in danger of failing, under a rule approved Tuesday.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. voted to require banks with $50 billion or more in assets to submit so-called living wills. Seven banks with [...]

Wells Fargo net rises on deposits, lending growth

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 17, 2012
Tags: Banks, consumer lending, Economy, factset, fbr capital markets, net income, revenue, san francisco, wells fargo, wells fargo & co

NEW YORK — A steadier mortgage business, higher commercial lending and an increase in deposits lifted Wells Fargo & Co.’s fourth-quarter profit by 20 percent.

The San Francisco-based bank reported Tuesday that the amount of mortgages it wrote in the last three months of 2011 jumped 35 percent compared with the third quarter, to $120 billion.
Overall [...]

JPMorgan’s profit falls 23 percent in 4Q

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 13, 2012
Tags: Bank of America, citigroup, earnings, goldman sachs group, jamie dimon, JPMorgan Chase, lawsuits, mortgages, new york, Real Estate

NEW YORK — In a sign that banks will continue to be punished for past mistakes, JPMorgan Chase set aside a large sum to fight lawsuits related to poorly-written mortgages during the real estate boom.
The reserves hurt the bank’s income, which fell 23 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. The New York bank reported [...]

Bumpy earnings season ahead for banks

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 11, 2012
Tags: Bank of America, Banks, borrowing, cash, citigroup, credit cards, debit cards, debt, earnings, Economy, europe, federal reserve, finance, goldman sachs, investment, JPMorgan Chase, morgan stanley, mortgage rates, regulators, wells fargo

NEW YORK  — You can usually tell a lot about the health of the U.S. economy by looking at the financial results of banks. They’re the people who finance new factories, plant expansions and fatter payrolls.
But don’t count on that over the next two weeks, when banks report their results from the [...]

Citibank turns rewards into ’social currency’

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 3, 2012
Tags: app, charity, Citibank, credit cards, customer account information, facebook, gift, points, rewards points, thankyou credit cards

NEW YORK — Credit card rewards are the new social currency.
Citibank customers can now use Facebook to pool their rewards points online.
The bank on Tuesday launched a Facebook application that lets users team up to use their points, whether it’s for charity, a group gift or a personal goal. Citi says it’s the first bank [...]

Hale retires from First Mariner

BY: Ben Mook
POSTED: December 23, 2011
Tags: 1st Mariner Bank, Edwin F. Hale Sr., FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, first mariner bancorp., International Maritime Pilots Association, Jack E. Steil, Mark Keidel, Mercantile Bankschares Corp., Michael R. Watson, priam capital, Robert D. Kunisch Jr., wilmington trust

Edwin F. Hale Sr. has retired as chairman and chief executive officer of First Mariner Bancorp, the struggling company announced Friday.
Hale’s retirement was effective Thursday. The executive had said he would step down if First Mariner’s deal with New York investment Firm Priam Capital was successful.
“While it is difficult to leave 1st Mariner, the time [...]

Bank of America reaches $335M settlement over Countrywide loans

BY: Associated Press
POSTED: December 21, 2011
Tags: African-Americans, Attorney General Eric Holder, Bank of America, borrowers, countrywide, department of justice, discrimination, fair lending, hispanics, home loans, racial discrimination, Settlement
Comments: 4

Bank of America agreed to pay $335 million to resolve allegations that its Countrywide unit engaged in a widespread pattern of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers on home loans.
The settlement with the U.S. Justice Department was filed Wednesday with the Central District court of California and is subject [...]

Sandy Spring to acquire CommerceFirst

BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: December 20, 2011
Tags: acquisition, assets, commercefirst bancorp, commercefirst bank, Sandy Spring Bancorp, stock, transaction

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. of Olney will acquire CommerceFirst Bancorp of Annapolis, and its subsidiary, CommerceFirst Bank, under a definitive agreement signed by the two companies that was announced Tuesday.
Sandy Spring will pay approximately $25.4 million in stock and cash. The acquisition will add approximately $205 million in total assets, $181 million in gross loans, [...]