Each spring during the rush of annual meetings, a handful of financial institutions take heat from shareholders who demand new strategies, management shakeups and, at times, even a sale of the company.

A lawsuit filed by the American Fintech Council and two other trade groups has implications for other states that also want to keep out high-cost consumer lenders.

The credit card giant says that it is "proactively meeting" with advocacy organizations to gather feedback that would help with the creation of a community benefits plan. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which has negotiated 21 such deals since 2016, opposes Capital One's proposed acquisition of Discover.

First National has agreed to buy Touchstone Bankshares. The combined company would have more than $500 million each of deposits and loans.

Lower commodity prices and decreases in government assistance are expected to push farm income lower this year and raise credit risk for banks.

The Justice Department and the CFPB are increasingly relying on emails among employees that contain discriminatory comments to strengthen their hand in cases against lenders.

Harborstone Credit Union in suburban Lakewood, Washington, plans to buy Savi Financial. That's seven deals in less than three months this year; the highest full-year total was 16 in 2022.

Financial services companies must incorporate digital, technical and cognitive empathy into the way they think about delivering their products in a digitized future.

At an American Bankers Association event, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who's up for reelection this year, said that he hopes the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill won't go anywhere and criticized the Federal Reserve's debit interchange proposal.

In the wake of multiple successes in 2023, the labor movement in the U.S. is continuing its efforts to expand. Recent successful union elections at Wells Fargo branches should be a wake-up call to the industry.