Bank channel

The creation of another high-profile investment group intent on buying failed banks is leading some to wonder if there are too many sharks circling the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

WASHINGTON — Regulators were picked apart Friday by members of two House committees, who blamed them for a dramatic drop in lending and urged them to ease up on bankers.

Critics claim it will hurt securitizations, limit flow of credit

With an overflowing pot of capital at his small New Century Bank, Jay S. Sidhu is ready to make some big deals.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive Jamie Dimon said during his company's annual investor day Thursday that he has been turned off by the "capricious, arbitrary and punitive behavior" of regulators since his company accepted $25 billion in aid as part of the bailout of the financial industry in 2008.

Sale would be part of effort to sell $715 billion in non-core assets

Legislation would create powerful new regulator

WASHINGTON — The worst of the financial crisis has passed for most institutions, but new Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data shows aftershocks are still being felt.

Kaplan joins from Citadel

First Midwest Bank in Itasca, Ill., approached its first failed-bank acquisition cautiously. The $7.6 billion-asset bank scooped up First DuPage Bank in Westmont, Ill., a tiny bank only a half-hour drive away. The Oct. 23 deal allowed First Midwest to learn the ropes of failed-bank purchases by taking over a small institution in its own backyard.

For chief risk officers at banking institutions, having the ear of the chief executive has proven necessary but not sufficient.

Four bank failures late Friday cost the government an additional $1 billion.

Bank-based advisors produced an average $16,728 in December, up from just $14,712 in November.

Treasury's pricing on direct repurchases dissuades more firms.

Donofrio will continue to work with Saggurti and Rubinoff, who will lead global investment banking

Many banks still suffer from chronic underinvestment in the analytical tools required for measuring risk, while others are still figuring out how to translate data into key decisions used in everything from the loan-approval process to executive pay practices.

While many financial advisors continue go to a mega-firm or go independent, some are finding homes in the community banking channel. But some analysts say it is difficult for most community banks to compete with larger financial services because of economies of scale.

Bank brokerage revenue fell 14% in 2009 in relative terms across banks of all sizes, according to new data from Kehrer-LIMRA.

Trade-off: discipline vs. growth in lending

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. suffered a rare court defeat Tuesday, as a federal judge sided with a bank that had challenged an enforcement order.