NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America <BAC.N> may extend its search for a new chief executive into next year if its board is unable to pick a candidate in the next four days, according to a report on the Bloomberg News website.

A ray of sunlight broke through the Washington fog last week when Neil M. Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, published his office’s report on the government bailout last year of the American International Group.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis has said he would consider postponing his retirement if directors need more time to find a successor or smooth the transition to the next CEO, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Friday it is dropping a clause from its credit card contracts that required disputes with customers to be handled through binding arbitration, a move that could lead to consumers filing class-action and other lawsuits.

As the biggest U.S. banks clamor to defeat Congressional measures that could break up their firms or slap a big tax on their transactions, another costly proposal is quietly gaining steam.

The three major credit ratings agencies gave mortgage-backed securities unjustifiably high ratings in return for lucrative fees, losing at least $457 million for five Ohio public employee pension and retirement funds, the state's attorney general alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday.

Archipelago Learning Inc. is set to begin trading Friday after its initial public offering raised $103.1 million.

For Citibank credit card holders, there is one way to escape the bank's rate hikes currently under way: Meet a monthly spending requirement.

For Citibank credit card holders, there is one way to escape the bank's rate hikes currently under way: Meet a monthly spending requirement.

Citigroup Inc. said Thursday it named a former Merrill Lynch executive, Steve Bodurtha, as managing director and head of investments for Citi Private Bank in North America.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments has launched a service to help retail brokers determine how profitable it would be for them to leave their brokerage house and hang out their own shingle.

The foreclosure crisis likely will persist well into next year as high unemployment pushes more people out of homes, pulls down housing prices and raises concerns about the broader economic recovery.

Bon-Ton Stores Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed with lenders to take a $675 million 3.5-year senior secured asset-based credit facility to replace its existing $800 million revolving credit facility due to mature in March 2011.

Shares of Bank of America stock rose more than 3.5 percent Wednesday after billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson told investors that he expects the stock price to almost double in the next two years.

A group of House Democrats are stepping up demands for greater transparency from the Federal Reserve after reports that the Fed mishandled the bailout of insurance giant American International Group.