Jeff Horwitz

Citing "regulations written for banking institutions," the insurance giant has put its $16 billion-asset depository on the block. MetLife, which ranks among the top 15 home lenders, would continue writing mortgages. But it would do so as part of the so-called shadow banking system.

If the financial industry were made up of nursery rhymes, Wells Fargo & Co. would be Little Jack Horner and Bank of America Corp. would be regarded as Pinocchio.

Plans to force the largest banks to hold as much as 2.5% more capital would put them at a competitive disadvantage to smaller institutions.

If Bank of America Corp.'s proposal to settle its mortgage-backed securities claims for $8.5 billion is approved as is by a court, the deal would provide the template for other banks to clean up their own MBS messes.

Bankers are cautiously upbeat about their industry. Given executives' overwhelming bias toward positive thinking, however, that is cause for concern.

After the flurry of role changes at JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week, it is easy to dwell on the relative power of executives and their career trajectories.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon's scolding of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had broad support among bankers reeling from a re-defeat on the Durbin amendment and renewed anxieties about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. With "300 rules coming," as Dimon lamented, there are plenty of things for bankers to hate.

Good times are just around the bend. The length of that bend depends on who you talk to.

Now that Bank of America has bought itself out of a massive class action over the sorting of overdraft fees, its fellow banks need to decide if they hold an advantage that B of A did not.

Citigroup Inc.'s board has approved a retention-award plan for Chief Executive Vikram Pandit that could be worth tens of million of dollars.

New research by Novantas LLC, Forrester Research and others adds weight to an idea being kicked around in the industry: that mobile may have its limits as a way to entice tech-savvy customers, reduce branch use and cut costs.

Citigroup has hired Doug Baird, a Bank of America executive, as chairman of equity capital markets for the Americas.

For banks looking to sell nonperforming assets, pricing realities are not ideal. But they have become increasingly tolerable.

Given the stagnant revenue growth that even the strongest regionals reported in the first quarter, there is no indication that Synovus has missed out on much.

The past few years have been rewarding for bank employees. OK, maybe not the rescues, stagnant loan books, layoffs and litigation. But none of these disasters hurt pay at banks.

Wells Fargo will hire 1,000 bankers in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia in the next few months as it beefs up staffing at former Wachovia branches, the company said.

Given Atkins' popularity on Wall Street and high profile, questions turned to how the bank would manage the transition. Wells, however, appears to be in position to ignore them.

Wells Fargo CFO Howard Atkins has resigned for personal reasons, the bank announced late Tuesday. He was immediately succeeded by chief administrative officer Timothy Sloan.

Unlike some of their peers, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and PNC Financial Services Group don't have to devote a hearty portion of their investor presentations these days to discuss ...

Absent from BofA chief Brian Moynihan's comments on his company's disappointing performance in 2010 was a convincing case that 2011 won't be yet another such year.