Business - Banking Industry

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. financial crime agency's plan to let foreign police seek information from American banks is drawing opposition from groups representing U.S. financial institutions. Full Story »

BANGALORE (Reuters) - U.S. regulators and legislators are investigating whether Wall Street investment banks deliberately sold risky structured securities to clients, and then bet on the securities failing, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Full Story »

NEW YORK (AFP) - Citigroup and Wells Fargo announced Wednesday they had repaid a combined 45 billion dollars to the US government from a massive program to bail out the banking system. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup Inc repaid a total of $45 billion to the United States on Wednesday, as major banks look to reduce government influence over their affairs. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. tumbled Wednesday after the mortgage insurer disclosed it was being sued by Bank of America's mortgage unit in a dispute over claims. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fifty-five financial companies failed to pay dividends in November on money they borrowed from the U.S. government, bank research firm SNL said on Wednesday. Full Story »

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Small and mid-sized U.S. banks can hold off on repaying funds under the Treasury's Troubled Assets Relief Program, as they may escape government pressure to raise capital and face less taxpayer scrutiny over compensation practices. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co , the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, on Wednesday said it repaid the $25 billion government bailout it received during the financial crisis, after last week selling $12.25 billion in stock. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The World Bank said it had approved its biggest ever loan to Vietnam as it virtually endorsed the once war-ravaged Southeast Asian nation's impending elevation to middle income status. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - This time, no fat cats. President Barack Obama took his plea for more small business lending to community bankers Tuesday, but his prodding was far gentler than it was with high finance CEOs last week. Full Story »

ENGELHARD, N.C. - ECB Bancorp Inc., the parent holding company of The East Carolina Bank, said Dec. 15 that its board of directors announced a 18.25 cents quarterly dividend. Full Story »

REDDING, Calif. - Bank of Commerce Holdings said it would pay a 6 cent per share dividend for the fourth quarter on Jan. 15 to shareholders. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Unlike big-city bankers, Stan Wilmoth didn't make lots of dumb loans during the boom. After the crash, he accepted not a dime of taxpayer money for his bank. His salary? "Substantially less" than the $1 million the former head of Merrill Lynch spent remodeling his office, he says. He credits his grandfather, a Protestant minister, with giving him "moral fiber." Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. banks that spent more money on lobbying were more likely to get government bailout money, according to a study released on Monday. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prospects for the four big U.S. banks are brightening, with earnings set to rise markedly in the coming years, the financial weekly Barron's writes in its latest issue. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Regulators on Friday shut down two big California banks, as well as banks in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Illinois, bringing to 140 the number of U.S. banks brought down this year by the weak economy and mounting loan defaults. Full Story »

MADISON, Wis. - A 44-year-old tax preparer from Sun Prairie, Wis., faces federal charges for allegedly defrauding a bank of $3.3 million. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - U.S. banks earned $5.7 billion trading derivatives and cash investments in the third quarter, as the level of credit risk continued to decline in the global market, a government report released Friday shows. Full Story »