Financial technology companies should be examined for safety and soundness just like banks and credit unions, top executives from the Independent Community Bankers of America said Tuesday.

Networking is a skill, and banks would be wise to offer their employees a little guidance on how to do it effectively. Otherwise, there will be more failed efforts, like this one from a new banker in town who surely thinks he "networked" at a recent golf tournament. Here are a few tips to maximize the time and money you invest in such events.

Banner Corp. in Walla Walla, Wash., reported higher quarterly profit that reflected its purchase of AmericanWest Bank.

Stonegate Bank in Pompano Beach, Fla., has agreed to buy Regent Bancorp in Davie, Fla.

Dennis Budinich, chief culture officer at Investors Bank, discusses the rise of chief culture officers and other nontraditional jobs in the banking industry.

The courts would not be getting involved in defining the reach of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau if the architects of the agency had instituted a commission to oversee it.

Bitcoin and similar digital currencies are often portrayed as enablers of faster payments, but there are other ways to execute fast international transfers.

Ally Financial reported strong loan and deposit growth in the first quarter, but a shift in the makeup of its automobile loan portfolio forced the Detroit company to nearly double its loan-loss provision from a year earlier.

Pressler and Pressler responded to the CFPB's legal action announced Monday. The law firm points out that the settlement ultimately involves no consumer redress or restitution, no invalidation of judgments and no findings of the use of improper affidavit practices.

A new crop of chief innovation, data and what-have-you officers promises to infuse fresh thinking, as banks try to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Paragon Commercial Bank, Unity Bancorp and Nicolet Bankshares have found success by radically rethinking their strategies.

Profitability is under a lot of pressure for small institutions. But some are handling that pressure better than others, as our annual ranking of publicly traded banks and thrifts with less than $2 billion of assets shows.

What does a chief culture officer do? Though this is an uncommon title in banking, it is starting to pop up in more executive suites. Here’s why one bank sees the role as an important factor in its effort to excel.

Cutting-edge jobs — think chief innovation, strategy and data officers — are on the rise at banks and other lenders, and they are drawing free-thinking, tech-savvy candidates from inside and outside of financial services. American Banker asked several of them to recommend a book or other piece of writing that helped them tackle jobs that often were created from scratch.

U.S. Century Bank in Miami has been freed from a regulatory consent order that had restricted its activities for nearly five years.

The $189 million-asset credit union has asked approval from state and federal regulators to convert to a state-chartered mutual savings bank.

Hypur, a startup seeking to help banks serve businesses deemed high compliance risks (e.g. marijuana), has recruited a former Department of Justice lawyer to help build credibility. Its signature product: a payments platform to replace cash transactions.

CommonBond, an online lender that specializes in student loan refinancing, announced Monday that it has sold $150 million of bundled loans to investors.

The CFPB ordered New Jersey-based collection law firm Pressler and Pressler LLP and debt buyer New Century Financial Services Inc. to stop churning out collection lawsuits allegedly based on nonexistent or flimsy evidence.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered the New Jersey law firm Pressler and Pressler and a debt buyer to pay $2.5 million for allegedly filing "mass-produced" lawsuits against consumers based on nonexistent debts.