Bank channel

For many years, community banks have seen their political influence and interests generally take a back seat to their larger competitors, but 2009 was the year that changed.

Terri Dial's resignation as head of North American consumer banking at Citigroup Inc. answered long-simmering questions about how much longer she would last at the beleaguered company.

Tax-time loans, already an embattled product, now face even more regulatory scrutiny — and not just from the traditional banking agencies.

A bank spokesman said the SEC did not find that any specific individual had intentionally misguided investors. So the new charges, if approved by U.S. District Court Judge Rakoff, will be for negligence instead of fraud, the spokesman said.

Friday brought the first failure of the year as Horizon Bank in Bellingham, Wash., was closed by state regulators.

WASHINGTON — The notion that holding company oversight should be entrusted to a bank's primary supervisor is gaining traction on Capitol Hill.

It has been two weeks since Arianna Huffington began imploring people to move their money to small institutions, and big banks do not appear any worse for the wear.

The Atlanta company has offered private banking services for musicians and motor sports athletes for years. Thomas Carroll (left) said SunTrust's new office in San Diego is only the beginning of its national expansion strategy.

WASHINGTON — The details are still sketchy, but an idea to tie compensation plans to deposit insurance premiums is already dividing the banking industry.

Regulators, with their reputations on the line and anxiety about the future, are forcing some banks to hold on to much of the capital. In recent months, some banks that wanted to fully repay the Troubled Asset Relief Program were allowed to return a fraction.

The insurance giant's new ad campaign tries to capitalize on investors' flight to safety.

The agency provided no further details on the action. The agenda for the meeting of the FDIC's board includes an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on "employee compensation."

Moynihan, who was promoted Jan. 1, has met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair and Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd's decision not to seek reelection strengthens his ability to enact regulatory reform, but the final bill is also expected to be more moderate, observers said Wednesday.

The unit is expecting double-digit growth as it expands its array of investment products.

The banking industry is entering 2010 in better shape than last year, but much rebuilding remains to be done.

In first public speech as CEO, he also makes case for mega banks

She has yet to cause a run on any of the money-center banks, but political-pundit-turned-digital-entrepreneur Arianna Huffington has lit up the blogosphere with a campaign targeting customers of the largest financial institutions.