American Banker articles from April 2005

American Banker archives from April 2005

Riggs 10-K Doesn't Quell Deposit Doubt.
April 1, 2005... Analysts have expressed concern for months about the health of Riggs National Corp.'s banking business. Wall Street got its first look at Riggs' 2004 financials this week when the Washington company filed its annual report with regulators,...

'Triage' Report: Freddie Builds Capital, But Work Remains.
April 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- In Freddie Mac's first financial report card in almost a year, earnings remained a work in progress but the balance sheet was secure enough to let the government-sponsored enterprise pursue growth, once it is ready to. On the...

Agencies Try To Head Off HMDA Storm.(Home Mortgage Disclosure Act)
April 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- On the eve of hundreds of banks' disclosing the demographic mix of high-cost mortgage borrowers, federal regulators urged the public Thursday not to jump to the conclusion that lenders practice bias. Though some banking...

A Strong Quarter for Syndicated Lending: Competitors gain on JPM Chase; spreads continue to narrow.
April 1, 2005... Syndicated lending got off to a healthy start this year but dipped below the record levels of late 2004 as repricings and refinancings dropped off. The four largest banks maintained their top rankings in the United States during the first...

Snow Wants Caps on GSEs.
April 1, 2005... The Treasury secretary said that in his testimony next week on GSE reform, he will recommend "some limitations" on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's portfolio holdings. Story on back page Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved....

People.(Benjamin Hong)
April 1, 2005... You Can Keep It Chuck Schwab is passing the buck -- literally -- again. For the second consecutive year, Mr. Schwab has declined his multimillion-dollar bonus from Charles Schwab Corp., the company he founded. The chairman and chief...

Bankruptcy Bill Backers Not Quite Ready to Party.
April 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The House is on the verge of breaking an eight-year jinx on legislation that would dramatically rewrite the nation's bankruptcy laws. But you will not catch any of its weary proponents celebrating yet -- even though House passage...

Fed Order Against Fla.'s Eagle.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Federal Reserve Board issued a cease-and-desist order Thursday against Eagle National Holding Co. of Doral, Fla., concerning insider transactions. The order bans the parent of Eagle National Bank of Miami from entering into any...

Web Bank to Target Blacks Plans to Open in the Summer.(BankBlackwell)
April 1, 2005... Internet-only banks targeting specific segments of the population have never really caught on, but organizers of one aimed at African-Americans say theirs will, because African-Americans prefer to do business with black-owned companies. ...

Year-Old Fund On a Road Trip To Deploy $25M.(Triumph Investment Fund)
April 1, 2005... Robert Keller has $25 million that is burning a hole in his pocket. The longtime community banker with a track record of delivering returns for investors now runs an investment fund that buys stakes in small banks seeking cash to help fund...

TRM's 4Q Results Hurt by eFunds Deal.
April 1, 2005... The automated teller machine sales organization TRM Corp., which is still absorbing the ATM network it bought from eFunds Corp. in November, reported an earnings hit Thursday. The Portland, Ore., company said its fourth-quarter profit was...

Remittance Newcomers Courting Immigrant Groups.
April 1, 2005... Niche companies, including prepaid card issuers and currency exchangers, have entered the remittance market by targeting specific immigrant groups, and more companies are planning to do the same. The newcomers acknowledge they probably will...

In Brief: MassMutual Closes Deal for ING's Baring.(MassMutual Financial Group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... MassMutual Financial Group in Springfield, Mass., said Thursday that it had closed its purchase of the global investment management activities of Baring Asset Management Ltd. from ING Group. The deal's terms were not disclosed. The...

In Brief: GE Insurance Taps Accident Unit Exec.(Patrick O'Brien)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GE Insurance Solutions in Kansas City, Mo., has appointed Patrick O'Brien a business leader in its accident and health business unit. Mr. O'Brien is responsible for the company's U.S. long-term-care, group long-term disability, managed...

In Brief: Hancock Introduces Variable Life Policy.(John Hancock Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... John Hancock Life Insurance Co. in Boston announced Thursday that it has begun offering a variable universal life insurance product aimed at clients seeking survivorship insurance with growth potential to meet their wealth transfer or business...

In Brief: Online Claim Tools At UnumProvident.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... UnumProvident in Chattanooga, Tenn., announced Thursday that it has expanded its online tools to help employers and employees file disability insurance claims. Employers now have available an online guide that includes sample claims forms,...

In Brief: S.C. Bank and Trust Hires Investing Exec.(South Carolina Bank and Trust hires West Summers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... South Carolina Bank and Trust in Columbia said Thursday that it has hired West Summers to be a senior vice president and director of investments in the wealth management group. Mr. Summers joins the bank after more than 20 years of managing...

JPMorgan Asset Unit Says Size Prevails in Managed Accounts.(JPMorgan Asset Management developing growth in sales of managed accounts)
April 1, 2005... JPMorgan Asset Management is developing share in sales of managed accounts even as bank distribution lags, says a distribution executive at the company. James T. Detmer, who is a managing director at the unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co., said...

Community Banks with Highest Return on Average Equity - Corrected: In the fourth quarter of 2004. Dollars in thousands.
April 1, 2005... (part 1 of 3) Rank 1 Helm Bank Miami 2 Charter Bank Corpus Christi 3 Community State Bank Milbank, S.D. 4 Broadway Bank Chicago 5 International City Bank Long Beach, Calif. ...

Picking Post-M&A Brand Plan.
April 1, 2005... Today it seems as if every bank is in the mergers and acquisitions game, either as a buyer, a seller, or an interested flirt. Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in this activity, banking is often called a commodity...

Focus on BSA, Laundering Continued.(Bank Secrecy Act)
April 1, 2005... Banking regulators continued to focus on Bank Secrecy Act, consumer, and corporate governance issues in the second half of 2004. During the entire year they completed 437 enforcement actions: the OCC 126, the Federal Reserve Board 38, the...

Destroying Basel II Accord Won't Save It.
April 1, 2005... In recent weeks the new Basel capital accord has come under fierce attack from opponents who charge that the accord will have serious, unintended consequences. For instance, former FDIC chairman William Isaac refers to Basel II as a...

Setting Optimal Deposit Rates.(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... To the Editor: The article "In Hawaii, Deposits Help While Credit Idles" [March 22, page 1] illustrates the opportunities facing banks across the country as rates march upward. Loan growth is shutting down as the Fed slows the economy...

JPM Chase, Sun To Collaborate on Analytic Projects.
April 1, 2005... JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to expand its use of distributed grid computing for high-powered analytic applications, and has turned to its longtime technology partner Sun Microsystems Inc. for the systems and design expertise. Sun, which...

In Brief: Bisys in Talks to Sell Its Education Unit.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Bisys Group Inc., which provides mostly technological outsourcing services to financial companies, has put its education services business on the block. The unit offers continuing education and licensing preparation courses for financial...

In Brief: HarborOne CU Using Compellent System.(HarborOne Credit Union using computer storage area network from Compellent Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... HarborOne Credit Union of Brockton, Mass., has switched to a storage area network from Compellent Technologies Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minn., for its increasing volume of customer data. The vendor said last week that early last year it...

In Brief: Tea Leaf Software Tracks Wells Portal.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Wells Fargo & Co. of San Francisco is using software that monitors customers' online sessions to fine-tune its commercial banking Web site. Danny Peltz, executive vice president of wholesale Internet and treasury solutions, said Wells has...

Wells to Buy $10B of Servicing.
April 1, 2005... Commercial Federal Corp. of Omaha is selling its $10 billion third-party servicing portfolio and correspondent origination network to Wells Fargo & Co. The deal was announced Thursday. Commercial did not say how much Wells would pay, but...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2005... In Wednesday's paper, the table on page 8, meant to show ROE leaders among community banks, in fact showed the ROA leaders. A corrected table, based on ROE, appears on page 9 of today's paper and is available on www.americanbanker.com. ...

In Brief: Sandler: Citi May Turn to Stock Buybacks.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Federal Reserve System's restrictions on Citigroup Inc.'s future acquisitions may lead to an aggressive share repurchase program, Jeff Harte, a Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP analyst, wrote in a research note Thursday. The nation's...

In Brief: Wells Fargo Files $30B Shelf Registration.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Wells Fargo & Co. has filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue up to $30 billion of stock and debt. On Wednesday the San Francisco company filed a shelf registration, which does not set a date for issuing the...

In Brief: Small Effect on B of A, Wachovia Shares.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... There was little movement in the shares of Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. on Thursday in response to speculation that the companies would try to buy Morgan Stanley if the investment bank put itself on the block. The Charlotte...

Snow: Put Limits on Fannie and Freddie.(report by Treasury Secretary John Snow)
April 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary John Snow told reporters Thursday that some type of limit should be placed on the mortgage portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- a demand that could put the government-sponsored enterprises and the Bush...

CSFB Sees Regional Bank Stocks Defying Rate Trend.
April 1, 2005... Bank stocks usually fall when interest rates rise, but a Credit Suisse First Boston LLC analyst says that things could be different this time around. Christopher Mutascio raised his sector rating Thursday on regional banks to "market...

InteliData's Survival Sale: Corillian bets it can draw reluctant customers.
April 4, 2005... The problems at InteliData Technologies Corp. were never about the technology. Its online bill payment software has always been well regarded, enough to attract a few marquee customers, but its failure to amass a sizable customer base kept...

SAR Report: Over Half Incomplete, Get Ignored.(Suspicious Activity Report )
April 4, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators are expected to raise their concerns again this week about the glut of suspicious-activity reports, but a study by the Treasury Department's Office of the Inspector General indicates there are more problems with...

Executive Changes.
April 4, 2005... Midwest M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee has promoted Mark R. Hogan from senior to executive vice president. Mr. Hogan remains a senior vice president at the parent company, Marshall & Ilsley Corp., and the chief credit officer...

Penn. Bank Agrees to a Self-Review.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Fulton County National Bank and Trust Co. in McConnellsburg, Pa., which reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1 million, has agreed to a regulatory order to strengthen its anti-laundering practices, review its loan portfolio, and improve its...

Pair of Upgrades Give Nara's Stock A Slight Bounce.
April 4, 2005... Shares of Nara Bancorp Inc. recovered slightly Friday, when it received upgrades from two analysts who said the stock's sharp drop Thursday presented a buying opportunity. The stock fell nearly 20% on March 31, a day after the $1.5...

Small Banks in Northwest Getting Into Trade Finance.
April 4, 2005... More small banks in the Pacific Northwest are setting up foreign trade divisions to serve the Asians pouring into the region. Last month the $2.9 billion-asset Banner Bank in Walla Walla, Wash., launched an international banking department...

Washington People.(includes multiple articles)
April 4, 2005... Women's Work You might think that Timothy McBride, the new chief lobbyist for Freddie Mac, would have been anxiously preparing for the three hearings scheduled this week on the problems of the government-sponsored enterprises. He was...

What's Next Step In Merchant Fight For Lower Fees?
April 4, 2005... More consumers are using plastic instead of cash or checks to make purchases at the point of sale, but because of rising interchange fees, some merchants would just as soon have customers pay with cash. What merchants might do next to...

B of A, HSBC, First Data Seen As Potential Discover Suitors.
April 4, 2005... Morgan Stanley's commitment to Discover Financial Services Inc., long a subject of speculation, is once again a water-cooler topic on Wall Street amid the turmoil at the New York investment bank. Philip J. Purcell, Morgan Stanley's chief...

In Brief: Old National to Buy Ind. Agency.(JWF Insurance)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., announced Friday that it has agreed to buy J.W.F. Insurance Cos. Inc. of Indianapolis in a deal expected to close early this quarter. Its terms were not disclosed. J.W.F. Insurance is a risk...

In Brief: 1st Niagara Closes Agency Deal.(First Niagara Risk Management)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Financial terms were not disclosed. Brad Byer, who has been the agency's president for 12 years, is to join First Niagara's Albany office as a vice president. First Niagara Risk Management said it expects revenues of more than $22...

Institutional Exec's Rehiring Buoys Putnam CEO.
April 4, 2005... Putnam Investments' chief executive officer says the rehiring of a leader for its institutional sales division last week is another step in the right direction for the Boston fund company's turnaround from its regulatory scandals. Sandra...

Caution Accompanies Good News on C&I.(commercial and industrial lending)
April 4, 2005... The industry colloquialism of the baton handoff from consumer to commercial is getting a bit grating, but that may only be because it hasn't happened despite two solid years of waiting. The persistence of consumer loan demand has amazed...

In Brief: Primedia Sells Bank Training Unit to BAI.(Bank Administration Institute of Chicago)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The Bank Administration Institute of Chicago has bought the St. Louis-based Bankers Training and Consulting Co. from Primedia Inc. of New York. The price was not revealed. Bankers Training offers courses in compliance, lending,...

In Brief: Chase Buys Vastera Foreign Trade Firm.(JPMorgan Chase Vastera)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The trade management firm Vastera Inc. is now JPMorgan Chase Vastera. JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced Friday that it had bought the Dulles, Va., firm, which provides online software and services for customs, compliance, risk, and tracking...

In Brief: CheckFree Powers Italian EBPP Service.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Itacable SpA of Milan has gone live with Italy's first business-to-business electronic invoicing and payment service system, ItaLock, using CheckFree Corp.'s i-Series invoicing software. Itacable offers electronic payment processing, data...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 4, 2005... In the March 23 paper, a page 18 story misspelled the last name of a Fair Isaac executive, Karlene Bowen. Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com http://www.americanbanker.com

In Brief: SunTrust Pulls Out of Factoring.(CIT Group purchases unit)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... SunTrust Banks Inc. of Atlanta has quit the factoring business and sold most of the assets of its factoring unit, Receivables Capital Management, to CIT Group Inc. of New York. CIT acquired $867 million of receivables and $238 million of...

In Brief: BancorpSouth Buys Benefits Firm.(Kyzar and Company)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... BancorpSouth Inc. of Tupelo, Miss., has bought the employee benefits firm Kyzar & Co. of Hattiesburg, Miss. The price was not revealed. Kyzar was merged into the Stewart Sneed Hewes division of BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc....

In Brief: Topeka FHLB Restates '01 Earnings.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka restated 2001 earnings last week, lowering them nearly 9%, to $80.2 million, because of accounting problems. An independent review of accounting for derivatives and hedges for 2001 through 2003 found...

Morgan Stanley Puts Buzz Back in M&A.(mergers and acquisitions)
April 4, 2005... The top financial services companies, many of which seemed content to overlook the M&A market, could well be reconsidering their strategies given recent unexpected events. With federal regulators sidelining a key rival in Citigroup Inc.,...

MassMutual Wealth Push May Include Buying Bank.
April 5, 2005... MassMutual Financial Group has expanded its products and international reach in the past year and now has its sights set on buying a "high-net-worth" bank to support an aggressive growth strategy, its chief executive officer said in an...

First HMDA Fallout -- Activists HitCiti, B of A: Data aside, lenders call critique 'reckless,' lacking in context.(Home Mortgage Disclosure Act)
April 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The first analysis of new pricing data required under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act shows African-American and Hispanic borrowers were several times as likely as white ones to get high-cost loans from Citigroup Inc. and Bank of...

Mutuals Get A Taste for C&I Lending.
April 5, 2005... After almost 10 years as a lender to small businesses, Salem Five Cents Savings Bank in Massachusetts is moving upstream. The $1.8 billion-asset mutual thrift has embarked on a campaign to make $400 million of commercial and industrial and...

Pay Tied to Mergers, Profits -- and Problems.
April 5, 2005... A number of top bank executives were rewarded by their boards for solid earnings and successful mergers in 2004, but some pay packages were trimmed because of regulatory and legal problems. "For most companies 2004 was a good year. You're...

Oxley to Cosponsor Baker's 'Strong' GSE Reform Bill.(Michael Oxley)(government-sponsored enterprises)
April 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Richard Baker received a critical boost Monday in his quest to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley revealed that he would cosponsor the Louisiana Republican's bill to...

Suit Over MC Web Chargebacks Dismissed.
April 5, 2005... A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit in which an Internet payment processor assailed the fees that MasterCard International charges when Internet customers refuse to pay. The plaintiff is Paycom Billing Services Inc., many of whose...

Report: Morgan Stanley Set To Put Discover Up for Sale.
April 5, 2005... Morgan Stanley is reportedly set to put its credit card business on the block. The investment bank's board, in a meeting over the weekend, authorized the company to sell the Discover Financial Services Inc. unit, according to a report on...

Morgan Rethinks Discover Status.
April 5, 2005... Morgan Stanley is considering a spinoff of its credit card business. In a press release issued after the market's close Monday, the company said its "board of directors has authorized management to pursue a spinoff of" Discover Financial...

Chase Exec: Anti-Phishing Fight Misses Real Threats.
April 5, 2005... The focus on phishing scams may be distracting banks from more important security problems, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive says. "I'm sick of hearing about phishing," said Richard A. Parry, the senior vice president in charge of risk...

In Brief: Independence Tellers to Scan Checks.
April 5, 2005... Independence Community Bank Corp., which has been bringing its check processing in-house, plans to convert most of its customers' checks into digital images at the teller window. Steve Glass, the Brooklyn, N.Y., banking company's chief...

In Brief: CheckFree, Unisys Linking Biller Systems.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... CheckFree Corp. is working to link its accounts receivable conversion software to a lockbox processing system from Unisys Corp. of Blue Bell, Pa., for billers in the utility and communications industries. CheckFree, of Atlanta, said Monday...

In Brief: Automated Answers from Harrisdirect.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Harrisdirect LLC, a Chicago online brokerage unit of Bank of Montreal, has begun offering its customers an "automated service agent" to answer common questions from investors. Conversagent Inc., the New York provider of the "Ask...

In Brief: Aon Chooses McKinsey Exec to Be CEO.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Aon Corp. hired Gregory C. Case Monday to be president and chief executive officer. Mr. Case was also elected to the board of directors of the big insurance brokerage. He succeeds Patrick G. Ryan, who had been Aon's CEO since the Chicago...

In Brief: Penn Treaty in Bankers Life Coverage Pact.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Bankers Life and Casualty Co. in Chicago, a subsidiary of Conseco Corp., said Monday that it will provide Penn Treaty American Corp.'s long-term-care insurance to a group of Bankers Life agents through K.F. Agency Inc. Under the agreement,...

In Brief: Nat City Hires 4-ManHarris Equity Team.(National City)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... National City Investment Management Co. announced the hiring Monday of four people from Harris Investment Management Inc. who will make up a structured equity team at the Cleveland unit of National City Corp. Hitesh Patel, Paul Kleinaitis,...

In Brief: First Horizon Buys HSA Administrator.(MSAver Resources LLC)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... First Horizon National Corp. said Monday that it has bought MSAver Resources LLC, an Overland Park, Kan., company that administers health savings accounts. The deal's terms were not disclosed. The Medicare Act of 2003 authorized the...

In Brief: Fidelity Unit Links to Envestnet Platform.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... National Financial, a unit of Fidelity Investments, announced a strategic relationship Monday with Chicago-based Envestnet Asset Management Inc. to offer correspondent broker-dealers and their investment representatives a unified managed...

In Brief: Bear Stearns Buying Stake in U.K. Broker.(Essex and Capital Mortgage)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. has agreed to acquire a minority stake in the U.K. subprime mortgage broker Essex and Capital Mortgage Corp. Ltd. The deal, which requires Financial Services Authority approval, was announced Monday. Bear Stearns did...

In Brief: Three to Underwrite New Freddie REMIC.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Freddie Mac said Monday that Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Securities LLC would be the lead underwriters for its first "Reference REMIC" security. The government-sponsored enterprise reiterated that the deal is expected to close...

In Brief: MBA Launches Site For Monitoring Fraud.(Mortgage Bankers Association)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... The Mortgage Bankers Association has started a Web site for lenders looking to fight fraud. The Mortgage Fraud Against Lenders Resource Center can be found at mbafightsfraud.mortgagebankers.org. In a press release Monday, Jonathan L....

Irwin Warns on Hedging; Others Seen Doing Same.(Irwin Financial Corp)
April 5, 2005... The profit warning Irwin Financial Corp. issued Monday could be the first of many from small and midsize banking companies with mortgage operations as rising interest rates add to earnings volatility. Irwin announced that it would post a...

In Brief: Bernanke Tapped for White House Panel.(Council of Economic Advisers)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... President Bush has nominated Federal Reserve Board Governor Ben S. Bernanke to be the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. During his three-year tenure at the Fed, Mr. Bernanke, 51, has been considered one of its top...

In Brief: Anti-Laundering Symposium in Texas.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will sponsor an anti-money-laundering symposium Wednesday in Austin. The event is part of their effort to address industry concerns about reporting...

In Brief: Knight to Buy Direct Trading Institutional.
April 5, 2005... Knight Trading Group Inc. said Monday that it will buy Direct Trading Institutional Inc. of Irving, Tex., to offer direct-access trading service to its institutional clients. The Jersey City market maker also said it had restructured its...

In Brief: Citi Stable in Fortune List; B of A, JPM Rise.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Citigroup Inc. remains at No. 8 in the annual Fortune 500 list, and mergers helped Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. climb. Wal-Mart Stores again topped the list, published Monday, with 2004 revenue of $288 billion, followed by...

Commerce, South Financial Deposit Strength Questioned.(Commerce Bancorp Inc.)(South Financial Group Inc.)
April 5, 2005... Analysts say they are worried that margin pressure will hurt banking companies' 2005 earnings. Andrew B. Collins of Piper Jaffray Co. lowered his rating on Commerce Bancorp Inc. of Cherry Hill, N.J., to "market perform" from "outperform"...

E-Trade Aims to Break Ground in Cash Management.
April 5, 2005... Mitchell Caplan, the chief executive of E-Trade Financial Corp., has the air of someone who has finally accomplished a long-held ambition. Five years ago Mr. Caplan sold the online bank Telebanc Financial to E-Trade because he believed it...

First American Buying Researcher.(LoanPerformance)
April 5, 2005... First American Corp., the data provider and title insurer, is expected to announce today that it is buying the mortgage research and analytics firm LoanPerformance. The deal is to close this month. First American, of Santa Ana, Calif., did...

Three Credit Counseling Firms Fined.
April 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission announced settlements Wednesday with three credit counseling firms that were accused of misleading customers. The firms will pay more than $6 million of consumer redress in addition to returning...