Chris Cumming

New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky may use the cybersecurity rules he's proposed for virtual-currency companies as a model for traditional banks. That would subject the financial institutions his agency supervises to the most stringent data-security rules anywhere.

Webster Financial in Waterbury, Conn., reported an increase in quarterly profit on the strength of its loan growth.

Pennant Management, which handles assets for community banks and other clients, disclosed that it could be holding up to $179 million in fake USDA-insured loans. Industry observers said the firm's failure to take certain precautions, along with weaknesses in the secondary market for USDA loans, invited fraud.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday that M&T Bancorp would pay $3.1 million in fines and reimbursement for deceptively marketing its checking accounts as free.

The Golden State is home to nearly a quarter of the banks on Sandler O'Neill's annual list of the top-performing small-cap institutions, a hint that the state could be returning to its pre-recession strength. Banks in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic also had strong performances.

Community banks in the region are getting better, but the hunt for short-term income could bite them down the road, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in its quarterly report.

Community banks and credit unions have filed class actions against Home Depot and Target, using untested legal arguments to claim the retailers should pay banks’ expenses tied to recent data breaches. There is very little legal precedent here, and hundreds of millions of dollars could hinge on the court rulings in these cases.

Tory Nixon played defense for San Francisco's famed NFL team in some of its glory years, but now he's on offense, seeking to build out commercial lending and retail operations in Northern California for California Bank & Trust.

More community banks are looking to outsource their mortgage operations to reduce the regulatory burden, but structuring such deals — and determining proper compensation — can be tricky. Here's how two Chicago-area lenders solved the problem.

We all say things can be better. These women act.

• FirstMerit's Sandy Pierce: Standing up for Detroit
• Bank of America's Cathy Bessant: Paying It Forward
• M&T's Michele Trolli: Leading a Bear of a Digital Transformation
• Zions' LeeAnne Linderman: Starting a Charity from Scratch
• RBC's Lisa Pollina: Creating Jobs for Military Veterans
• NorthStar's Julie Goodridge: Fighting for Investors and Gay Marriage

Sandy Pierce is a lifelong Detroit resident who has the chance to help her hometown in a way that few bankers ever get. The FirstMerit vice chairman leads the board overseeing the distressed city's turnaround plan.

Cathy Bessant says a cancer diagnosis a few years ago got her thinking about the legacy she hopes to create. So she accelerated her longtime plan to establish a scholarship for women in rural areas of Michigan, women with backgrounds just like hers. Bank of America’s global technology and operations executive aims to pay forward the help she received.

Through her work with NATO, Lisa Pollina came to appreciate the skills and dedication of the men and women in the U.S. military. As the vice chairman of RBC Capital Markets, she is spearheading a program, called the RBC Veterans Initiative, to help transition them into jobs in the financial services industry.

As M&T Bank's chief information officer, Michele Trolli is leading an overhaul of its anti-money laundering systems. She also has a sideline in finding homes for orphaned polar bears.

Albina Community Bancorp in Portland, Ore., has filed for bankruptcy.

In marketing, deciding on a strategy is the easy part. The challenge involves figuring out if it's working. PNC Financial, Regions and other companies at a recent conference discussed how to know if a bank getting a good return on its marketing dollars.

Albina Community Bancorp is one of few lenders to recapitalize and sell its bank despite an overhang of trust-preferred debt at the parent company. Still, an investor is threatening to force involuntary bankruptcy — a sign of just how tough it is for banks to escape the trust-preferred trap.

CertusBank in Greenville, S.C., has agreed to sell its mortgage and wealth businesses as it tries to move past its history of high expenses and heavy losses.

If anybody deserves to tell a "Gee, my arms are tired" joke, it's Bob Barnes of Mainstreet Community Bank of Florida, who spent the month of August doing push-ups to raise money for a community group that provides food and shelter for people in need.

Banc of California has announced extensive community reinvestment goals as part of its planned purchase of 20 Banco Popular branches in Southern California. The agreement, which appeased a community group that had opposed the sale, shows how much power such organizations wield when it comes to M&A.