Bank channel

Brendan McDonagh, the chief executive of HSBC North America Holdings Inc., is retiring July 31 after winning credit for turning around the global finance giant's operation in the U.S. and Canada, which was hobbled by a troubled consumer lending business it bought before the recession.

The merger of the Office of Thrift Supervision into the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will eliminate some of the key benefits of choosing the charter, and leave a single agency trying to enforce two different sets of rules, observers said.

The unit of Bank of America hired three executives from City National Bank to expand in California.

Many Gulf Coast banks are in damage-control mode as they scramble to figure out how badly the oil spill could hurt their bottom lines.

BB&T Corp.'s mutual fund family has had a dramatic gain in assets over the past year, and the bank's asset management arm is laying the groundwork for more expansion.

As U.S. Trust continues pursuing its mission to expand its leadership position in wealth management and enhance its business with ultra-high-net worth clients, the firm announced on Tuesday that it appointed five senior-level wealth management experts to key markets nationally.

The regulatory reform conference committee officially kicked off Thursday, and while the final fate of key provisions remains up in the air, it is clear senators have several advantages over their House counterparts.

Many troubled banks are pleading with investors to sell trust-preferred securities back to them at a discount, warning they may fail otherwise. But a small group of investors are calling the banks' requests a bluff.

While banks are optimistic about the economy and their customers perceptions of them, customers tell another story.

Bank securities held by the Treasury Department through the Troubled Asset Relief Program would no longer count toward a banking company's Tier 1 capital under the Senate's version of the reform bill, legal experts said.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd on Wednesday endorsed a proposal to force banks to spin off their derivatives desks, saying Sen. Blanche Lincoln's primary win this week had increased odds some form of it would be in the final regulatory reform bill.

Minor changes to the newly public company are mostly positive, but most expect business as usual at the giant broker-dealer.

After tumultuous year, Clay Deutsch will replace Timothy L. Vaill as the company’s chief executive officer on July 31.

Though the reform bill wending its way through Congress will have little direct impact on regional banks' capital markets business, it could spur more competition from larger rivals.

Interviews with analysts, industry representatives, academics and other sources point to a growing consensus on how some of these issues will play out.

Bank holding companies’ insurance income grew by 38.5% last year, but only a fraction of that came from traditional sales.

The comapnies announced Friday an agreement to jointly develop, sell and support managed investment account services, using GlobalBridge’s unified managed account technology.

Midwestern banks are going after talent and customers in small and midsize business lending, treasury services, automotive lending and other areas where a lot of competition has disappeared since the recession struck.

Rising costs and adjusted benefits don’t put annuity buyers off.

Advisor Alliance, will allow Merrill Lynch advisors to sell recordkeeping and retirement plan administration services to small business owners.