The bank branch on the corner might be changing names - again. Get set for the next wave of consolidation that could sweep through the nation's banking industry this year. Chief executives at some of the top regional players might be mulling deals to salvage businesses pummeled by the subprime mortgage market's collapse. ...more

January 12, 2008

It was the first day of November and Coleman Stipanovich's world was coming undone. Florida school districts and towns had begun pulling their cash out of the $26 billion money market fund he supervised after they learned it held subprime-tainted debt. ...more

December 20, 2007

Consumers grousing about soaring gas prices often focus on the big oil companies and anyone else who might profit when it costs more at the pump. One culprit that doesn't always get blamed when prices rise - a weak dollar - could draw more attention in the coming year. ...more

December 15, 2007

Some credit card companies are raising interest rates on good customers even if they pay down their balances on time every month. The reason they cite is that the customer's credit rating has fallen elsewhere. A Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing on credit card practices heard the testimony of people who had a nasty surprise when they thought they were paying down their balances, but it turned out they were only paying off interest. Major credit card companies such as Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have said they will discontinue the practice of raising a customer's interest rate based solely on a change in their credit score. Capital One said its policy is not to change customers' interest rates if their credit scores go down. ...more

December 5, 2007

The nation's three largest banks said Monday that they are teaming up to create a rescue fund of sorts - potentially as large as $100 billion - to help bail out troubled global credit markets. ...more

October 16, 2007

Citigroup's report of a 57 percent drop in third-quarter profit didn't surprise anyone. What did sound some alarms was the biggest U.S. bank's somber take on current conditions - suggesting that a hoped-for industry rebound may not come so easily. ...more

October 16, 2007

Bank of America raised ATM fees to $3 for noncustomers to boost profit from its network of 17,000 cash machines, the largest in the United States. ...more

September 14, 2007