LAS VEGAS — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday ordered the online payment processor Dwolla Inc. to pay a $100,000 fine for deceiving customers about its security practices — the first action it has taken related to data security.

The CFPB took action Wednesday against online payment platform Dwolla for allegedly deceiving consumers about its data security practices and the safety of its online payment system. Dwolla must pay a $100,000 penalty and fix its security practices.

Ocwen Financial in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the target of a second Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its mortgage servicing practices.

Mergers of equals are hard to complete due to cultural issues, but a spike in consolidation paired with weary leaders and a lack of young talent could make such combinations more appealing.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Wednesday an application process for requests that areas not currently deemed “rural” receive that designation under federal consumer financial law.

As in-person transactions continue to decline, bankers should focus on engaging with customers in settings outside the physical branch.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a Wisconsin Consumer Act amendment that eases rules for debt collectors and clarifies requirements for creditors to collect debts.

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., has nominated the chief financial officer for the city of Tampa, Fla., to join its board.

Green Bancorp, the Houston lender that went public in 2014, is exploring a sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as weakness in its energy loan book pressures its share price.

In almost any other election cycle, bankers would be celebrating the fact that a Republican candidate has emerged so far in front of the pack and would quickly fall in line behind him. But this has been anything but a normal election cycle, and there are a whole host of reasons that bankers will be at least as reluctant to embrace the outspoken businessman Donald Trump as the Republican establishment has been.

Cordia said in a press release Tuesday that it sold its CordiaGrad platform to its Jack Zoeller, the $348 million-asset company's chief executive.

WASHINGTON — The House Financial Services Committee will hold a vote Wednesday on a bill that would provide regulatory relief for financial institutions that are not considered systemically important.

The Clearing House has picked Federal Reserve economists William R. Nelson and Francisco Covas to lead its research arm.

The mortgage servicer said it has received letters from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding separate probes into its collection practices and fees.

More than 200 small banks across the country will be able to offer online loans to their small-business customers as part of a new partnership announced Tuesday.

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., has named a new bank president and chief operating officer, as its chief executive hands over some of his leadership responsibilities.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in October that could drastically expand the already swollen ranks of consumer claimants under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It could also make it much more difficult for businesses to successfully defend against such claims in the early stages of litigation.

Sunstate Bank in Miami has been released from an enforcement action that had required it to strengthen its anti-money-laundering controls.

Estimates of nonbank mortgage providers that will close or change hands should worry consumers and policymakers about access to credit.

DBA International has announced its Receivables Management Certification Program (CMCP) continues to be adopted within the industry with nearly 100 member companies and 200 individuals receiving certification.