Bank channel

At once soft-spoken and matter-of-fact, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan spoke about his first year at the helm.

Several bankers spoke directly with top Fed officials on Thursday, arguing that if they finalized their interchange rule, it would gut industry profits and hurt consumers.

Saxo Bank announced it has reappointed Steen Jakobsen as its chief economist after leaving the Danish bank in early 2009 where he served as chief investment officer at Limus Capital Partners.

While it may be true that some banks are stockpiling cash, high reserve levels are more a consequence of the reluctance to lend than the cause.

Bank stocks are up across the board, with giddy investors anticipating a flurry of mergers after a few high-profile deals in December and January. But the higher share prices have actually slowed what could have otherwise been a steady pipeline of deals.

New Forrester report reveals how customers view their financial services firms.

Brian Moynihan sought to usher in a "new era" for B of A Tuesday, asserting that the bank would move away from a culture of growth by acquisition to one focused on organic growth.

"Banks are struggling with where to get more revenues because of fee reductions,” said Rob Comfort, head of Huntington Investments. “This gives us an opportunity to play a prominent role.”

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.

The 27-page term sheet handed to the five largest mortgage servicers last week is a detailed, dense list of requirements that, if implemented as proposed, would fundamentally change the relationship between servicers, investors and borrowers.

The Bank Insurance and Securities Association is planning to rebrand in the future, according to Sam Guerrieri, the president-elect, who announced the new agenda for the organization now that it has teamed up with Smith Bucklin, a company that specializes in running organizations.

A total of 610 people came to the BISA conference, compared with 450 in 2010.

As they say: The more things change, the more they stay the same. That goes for the American Bankers Association Wealth Management Conference in Miami.

Bank-owned life insurance assets reached a record $140.24 billion in the third quarter of 2010—a 4.8% increase from $133.87 billion in the third quarter of 2009, according to the Michael White/Meyer-Chatfield Bank- Owned Life Insurance (BOLI) Holdings Report.

Federal agencies are set to establish sweeping new servicing standards not by legislation or regulatory process, but by a major action against the top five mortgage servicers.

Developing talent should be as important to executives as developing strategy.

Despite naming its product Virtual Wallet, PNC Financial Services has decided that its Web-centric bank account should be firmly grounded in the real world.

“More banks do not have licensed bankers than have them,” according to recruiter Rick Rummage. “Every bank should have them and license them.”

Anti-money-laundering expert Tony Wicks spoke about what banks should be on the lookout for as unrest grows in the Middle East.

New office is expected to reinforce Boston company’s commitment to Australian market