Affirm's head of new markets, Brad Selby, says hidden fees and onerous compounding interest terms are trapping too many consumers in deep credit card debt.

Fannie and Freddie regulator's first report on NPL sales shows more borrowers avoid foreclosures when their loans are sold to investors.

The $99 million-asset thrift said in a recent press release that Best Hometown Bancorp, a holding company it created, raised $8.3 million as part of an initial public offering tied to its mutual-to-stock conversion. Home Federal also plans to change its name to Best Hometown Bank.

The $685 million-asset Pinnacle Financial in Elberton, Ga., said in a press release Friday that it will pay $32.8 million in cash for the $184 million-asset Independence Bank of Georgia in Braselton.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp is buying a bank with a national mortgage platform. The company hopes the business will provide a much-needed lift in fee income.

JPMorgan Chase is opening its doors to fintech startups to work with its business lines directly on bank innovations for faster, safer and more cost-efficient operations.

Liberty Shares in Hinesville, Ga., one of a handful of banks still stuck in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, has raised $26 million in capital.

MVB Financial in Fairmont, W.Va., has sold most of its insurance business to USI Insurance Services in Valhalla, N.Y.

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Initial coin offerings are the latest fad for many emerging cryptocurrency companies and projects. From the recently completed Lisk, Waves and Mycelium coin offerings to the historic crowd sale by the DAO – which was subsequently hacked for about $60 million – to Bitland, Project Decorum, Elastic Project and a good number more sales, the trend is clear.

The decision by a federal appeals court to toss out a blockbuster settlement between retailers and the card networks could re-expose some banks to legal liability and threaten their already challenged interchange income.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday that it paid $24.5 million in restitution to consumers after uncovering illegal activities in auto finance and payment firms in the first four months of this year.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., is paying $371 million to put behind it the vestiges of its dealings with the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

First Bank in Hamilton, N.J., has raised $13.7 million by selling common stock.

NPL investors will have to consider principal reductions and offer more sustainable loan modifications.

The $126 billion-asset holding company for Regions Bank said Jeremy King, who had been support manager for private wealth, is now executive vice president of wealth management strategy and effectiveness for Regions Wealth Management.

Banks, credit card companies and other financial firms are strategizing ways to stave off higher legal bills they expect from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal to limit the use of arbitration clauses, which is likely to open the floodgates to class action lawsuits.

A $5.7 billion settlement by Visa and MasterCard was rejected by an appeals court in New York, potentially renewing years of litigation with U.S. merchants over allegations that credit-card swipe fees were improperly fixed.

The business case for real-time payments is not the opportunity to charge high fees. Rather, the payoff – which will take time – will come in retaining customers, lowering operational costs, and delivering timely financial insights to smartphone-toting customers.

WASHINGTON — Whether bitcoin is actual currency is at the forefront of a first-of-its-kind money-laundering case in Florida to be decided Friday.