The Justice Department is notifying state and municipal court systems in a letter sent Monday that defendants who fail to pay fines or fees shouldn’t be jailed. The letter warns that such practices run afoul of the Constitution and harm trust within communities.

A top CFPB official said student loan companies are at risk of breaking the law if they place people in default when the co-signer of their loan dies or declares bankruptcy. The CFPB’s latest Supervisory Highlights report focuses on problems in the student loan industry.

We are reminded frequently that policies with the best intentions often do not reach their intended recipients and at times lead to previously unforeseen issues.

First Community Financial Partners in Joliet, Ill., has agreed to buy First Mazon Bancorp in Mazon, Ill.

Prosper Marketplace on Monday announced a three-year agreement to offer financing to consumers making improvements to their homes through the website HomeAdvisor.com.

Bluetooth beacons — small nightlight-sized devices that can communicate with a mobile app as shoppers move throughout a store — may have the same potential for bank branches as they do for mega-retailers like Target Corp.

The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions closed the $67.1 million-asset North Milwaukee State Bank on Friday.

First Interstate BancSystem in Billings, Mont., has tapped a KeyCorp executive as its new chief credit officer.

C1 Financial in Tampa, Fla., was unable to seize an opportunity to bring in more money for its sale to Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark.

A left-leaning group is attacking one of the most prominent Democrats in Washington as being insufficiently tough on payday lenders. The ad shows how once-obscure financial issues are commanding a higher profile this election season.

Capital One, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and FIS are among the financial services companies that believe Amazon's Echo device has a role in the future in digital banking. Here's why.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Massachusetts invested in technology to beef up its small-business lending, an area ripe for the picking by alternative lenders.

Single-family housing construction is set to top multifamily start for first time since the financial crisis.

There are more than 43 million student loan borrowers in the U.S., owing nearly $1.3 trillion dollars of debt. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling believes those numbers make it a hotbed for debt relief scams and NFCC officials are warning student borrowers about falling victim.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is exploring ways to use $40 million it received as part of a private-label securities settlement to support small-business development and job creation to help future homebuyers.

United Security Bancshares in Thomasville, Ala., has agreed to buy a three-acre parcel near Birmingham, Ala., for a new executive office and retail branch.

Activists typically improve a company's stock performance — and can produce "dramatic, excess returns" when they have specific demands, says Josh Hinkel, a partner with Bain & Co.

The fight over the security protections on the San Bernardino, Calif., iPhone is about more than a single device or Apple's product line.

Ray Grace, North Carolina's banking commissioner, believes federal bank regulators should embrace charters for banks dedicated to innovation. Doing so, he said, would help the banking industry secure its spot as a "laboratory for change."

West York Borough, in York, Pa., is owed an estimated $500,000 as a result of delinquent residential sewer accounts, borough officials reported.