Activist investor Abbott Cooper, who has been locked in a battle with management at AmeriServ Financial for more than a year, plans to nominate former Amalgamated Financial head Keith Mestrich in a bid to end the impasse.

U.S. Bancorp and Truist picked literal names for their virtual assistants to avoid confusing customers, while Fifth Third and Regions created characters called "Jeanie" and "Reggie" to put clients at ease. Other companies are trying to split the difference.

The $23 million deal, signed in 2021 and initially projected to close in the second quarter of 2022, was delayed multiple times amid leadership turnover at the Los Angeles-based RBB.

German financial watchdog BaFin has appointed an independent monitor to oversee Deutsche Bank's progress in resolving issues at its consumer unit. It's the second time BaFin has taken the unusual step since Christian Sewing became CEO in 2018.

Making the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding subject to congressional appropriations would bring some much-needed accountability to a runaway regulator.

In September's roundup of top banking news: Truist Financial promises to cut costs by roughly $750 million; former Wells Fargo exec Carrie Tolstedt is sentenced to three years probation; and more.

MidWestOne will reinvest proceeds of branch sales into Denver Bankshares; promotions are afoot in JPMorgan's investment banking unit; Bethpage Federal Credit Union expands into Queens and New Jersey; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

The combination of inflation and rising interest rates over the last 18 months has made it more difficult for Americans to stay on top of their loan payments, especially on credit cards and auto loans.

A proposed settlement between the Philadelphia-based community bank and an activist investor group that has waged a nearly two-year battle for control also calls for overhauling the board of directors.

Two months after the mysterious failure of the Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart, Kansas, a news article sheds light on its downfall. CEO Shan Hanes was involved in a cryptocurrency hoax involving a $12 million wire payment, according to the Bloomberg Businessweek report.