The Urban Institute has released a report reviewing data from 118 million homeowners and 127 million renters to help understand how mortgages relate to other consumer debts.

Hometown Community Bancorp in Morton, Ill., has agreed to buy Illini Corp. in Springfield, Ill.

Mid Penn Bancorp in Millersburg, Pa., has hired Michael Peduzzi as chief financial officer.

Community Financial Corp. in Waldorf, Md., has agreement to support a director nominated by the activist investor Basswood Capital Management.

The CFPB's annual report to Congress updates the current status of proposed debt collection rules and lists four key themes that emerged from the more than 23,000 comments received after the CFPB’s 2013 debt collection Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

Royal Financial in Chicago has agreed to sell $25.8 million of distressed assets associated with its pending purchase of Park Bancorp in Chicago.

Thousands of students who were defrauded by Corinthian Colleges could receive billions in debt forgiveness from the federal government, the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday.

Hackers penetrated the computer network of a Verizon Communications subsidiary, but the company says it plugged the hole before much data was compromised.

CU Anytime will upgrade its ATM management system to a software platform provided by NCR Corporation and INETCO Software.

Sterling Bancorp in Montebello, N.Y., plans to raise $105 million in a debt sale to fuel potential acquisitions of commercial lenders.

WASHINGTON – Four Democratic senators sent a letter on Thursday to federal financial regulators asking for clear guidance on how banks can serve the marijuana industry.

Nandita Bakhshi and Ellen Alemany discuss strategy; Beth Mooney strikes a deal; a Lehman Sister recounts her experience as a woman at the top of Wall Street in its doomsday; and HSBC sets a goal to have equal gender representation in certain areas by 2020. Plus, some interesting research on equal pay for women, and good grief, Raymond Moore.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

A Georgia-based debt collection law firm and a debt buyer didn't violate federal law by misleading consumers into believing that they would be sued if they didn't pay the amount they owed, the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.

Roughly 90 banks that participated in the government's lending program still owe money to the Treasury Department and face a massive dividend increase. Many of those could view selling as a better alternative to raising new capital.

Five policy heavy-hitters issued a proposal this week to merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government corporation as a way to move beyond the conservatorships of the two government-sponsored enterprises.

The Federal Trade Commission, hoping to strengthen cross-border cooperation on anti-spam and Do Not Call enforcement, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission.

Experts see the British bank's decision to downsize its African stake as another example of money-laundering concerns and other risks prompting institutions to get out of emerging markets.

Jefferson Security Bank in Shepherdstown, W.Va., has promoted Cynthia Kitner from chief financial officer to chief executive.

Diebold acquired enough Wincor Nixdorf shares to complete the purchase of its German rival, a deal that creates a maker of cash machines and systems with more than $5 billion in sales.