The Federal Housing Finance Agency's decision to raise conforming loan limits in 2016 for the first time in a decade is being met with enthusiasm from the mortgage industry, as it should prove to be a positive for future origination volume.

The Pennsylvania company has redoubled its outreach to low- and moderate-income consumers by partnering with Operation Hope on a down payment assistance program and naming a veteran banker to the newly created post of director of fair and responsible banking. But despite these efforts, history says Fulton is unlikely to escape punishment if the Justice Department finds that it violated fair-lending laws.

An Israeli startup in the emerging B2B2C space that allows consumers to make payments through major messaging apps has completed a $6 million round of funding backed by Banco Santander, Mastercard and other investors.

The longtime CEO of Oconee Federal Financial in Seneca, S.C., is handing the reins to his son. Curtis T. Evatt, Oconee's president and chief financial officer, will succeed T. Rhett Evatt as CEO of the $484 million-asset holding company and Oconee Federal Savings and Loan Association on Jan. 1.

Belmont Savings in Massachusetts isn't trying to fire or replace its employees who work the phones pursuing sales leads, but it has made some technological investments to get more out of them.

Hopes are high among bankers that soon-to-be President Donald Trump and the new Congress will quickly lower the corporate tax rate. But a tax overhaul might benefit community banks and small regionals more than larger banks, especially those reliant on tax strategies that might be less meaningful in a new system.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, said it plans to add 1,000 jobs by 2024 at a new office complex in Columbus and lend $300 million to low- and moderate-income communities in the city over the next five years.

Consumers flooded Twitter and downdetector.com with complaints that Bank of America's teller system was down Tuesday afternoon.

Old Dominion National Bank has opened a new office in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington and has hired five bankers to work there.

Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., has agreed to pay for $79.1 million to buy 16 branches and other offices that it had been leasing.

More than 41% of banks have bought into hyperconvergence — a blend of integrated server, storage and networking technology that's easily managed by software — and there's no sign of its popularity letting up. PeoplesBank, a community bank in Massachusetts, is one of those that caught the bug.

The pending purchase of Carlile Bancshares will lower Independent's concentration in commercial real estate, while introducing the company to fast-growing markets in Texas and Colorado.

Shortage of appraisers in rural areas and compensation issue force lawyers to re-consider restrictions on communications between lenders and appraisers.

With access to financial transaction data under threat by hurdles imposed by certain financial institutions, it should be up to consumers to decide how their data is used to improve their financial well-being.

Sun Bancorp in Mount Laurel, N.J., the $2.1 billion-asset parent of Sun National Bank, said independent director Anthony Coscia will serve as chairman of both starting Dec. 31.

Johnson, 54, will succeed her father, Edward "Ned" Johnson, as chairman of the family-run firm in early December.

ACNB Corp. in Gettysburg, Pa., is planning to enter Maryland with its agreement to buy New Windsor Bancorp in Taneytown, Md.

Ally Financial in Detroit has agreed to pay $52 million to settle probes and claims related to its role as the underwriter for subprime residential mortgage-backed securities in 2006 and 2007.

Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, has agreed to buy Carlile Bancshares in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bridge Bancorp in Bridgehampton, N.Y., is looking to raise $50 million by selling common stock.