Jacob Passy

Investors are quickly choosing sides in a proxy battle at Financial Institutions in Warsaw, N.Y.

United Community Financial in Youngstown, Ohio, has hired a JPMorgan Chase executive to be in charge of its technology.

David Bohne was the president of a big, successful bank until he took a year off to clear his head. When he was ready to return, he looked at banks across the country but found what he needed in a small, family-run institution right in his hometown.

Washington Federal in Seattle said its profit rose 3.4% to $41.7 million in the three months that ended March 31 as loan growth outweighed higher information technology costs.

Profits soared at First Republic Bank in San Francisco thanks to lending growth in several categories and its expansion in wealth management.

Mutual of Omaha Bank and an affiliate of PlainsCapital Bank in Dallas have partnered to sell residential mortgages.

Card firm MBNA has joined the first wave of issuers to offer Samsung Pay when it launches in the United Kingdom.

Quicken Loans plans to appeal a recent federal labor ruling that the Detroit lender and other companies owned by Dan Gilbert violated employees' rights.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and its U.S. subsidiary, MUFG Union Bank, have named Ranjana Clark to the role of San Francisco Bay Area president.

Green Dot has named three new directors, ignoring the slate of nominees recently proposed by activist investor Harvest Capital Strategies.

Marsha Williams' appointment at the $141 billion-asset company takes effect immediately. Williams has been on Fifth Third's board since 2008.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) has created a service to help financial institutions comply with requirements governing payments messaging.

Wells Fargo will soon begin offering its employees paid parental leave. Wells will also offer paid critical caregiving leave and a backup adult care program.

Citizens National Bank in Henderson, Texas, has agreed to buy Kilgore National Bank in Kilgore, Texas.

Fifth Third Bancorp has confirmed that it offered some of its employees buyouts to reduce costs.

Banc of California in Irvine has agreed to sell its wholly owned investment adviser subsidiary, The Palisades Group.

Citi has expanded its ThankYou Rewards program to allow its reward points to be used directly for purchases at BestBuy.com.

The majority of first-time homebuyers plan to skip the starter-home step and move straight into the home that would meet their long-term needs, according to the Homebuyer Insights Report from Bank of America.

Bank of New York Mellon has hired a new chief operating officer for its markets business.

Financial Institutions in Warsaw, N.Y., is facing a proxy battle from an activist investor intent on taking two board seats.