Unpaid utility bills owed by 680,000 residential electric and gas customers in Pennsylvania totaled $315 million in 2014, according to the state Public Utility Commission (PUC).

Bridgewater Bank in Bloomington, Minn., has agreed to buy First National Bank of the Lakes in Orono, Minn.

Many emerging innovators want to incorporate digital advances into the incumbent financial services sphere, not necessarily leapfrog banks.

The agency scrapped a part of its 2014 proposal that would have required Home Loan bank members to maintain a certain percentage of residential mortgage assets in order to keep their membership. But it held fast on a provision that would disqualify captive insurance firms from membership.

Digital and alternative currencies are often cast as libertarian-friendly payment vehicles whose very mission engenders government antagonism. But in Canada, things are a bit friendlier.

City officials in Longview, Texas are planning to review placing restrictions on “credit access” businesses such as title and payday loan outlets. City council officials will discuss the plan on Thursday.

Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., has agreed to buy Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin in Madison.

Consumers increasingly fell behind on their payments in several loan categories in the third quarter as economic growth cooled.

Raising capital has been tough for community banks ever since the financial crisis, especially the smallest ones. But a few firms have developed structured products that offer banks a chance to band together to raise needed Tier 1 capital at relatively low cost, while avoiding the regulatory ire that befell trust-preferred securities.

Fundation Group, an online small-business lender, has hired an industry veteran as its first chief operating officer.

Old Fort Banking in Tiffin, Ohio, has sold a controlling interest to its employees. The Old Fort Employees Stock Ownership and 401(k) plan bought a 45% stake in Gillmor Financial Services, the holding company for the $471 million-asset Old Fort.

Following a new blueprint, card issuers are seeing returns on assets above 4% for the first time since before the financial crisis. How long the good times last will depend partly on how well the U.S. economy weathers turmoil in China and other markets.

DNB Financial in Downingtown, Pa., said its chairman and chief executive, William Latoff, has died. He was 67.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is using outdated methodologies to define "brokered deposits," stigmatizing stable sources of funding and forcing banks to pay higher premiums, according to bankers and several outside groups.

The rule, set for 2018 implementation, would force companies to record gains and losses from equity investments on their income statements. That should create volatility for 50 to 70 institutions, mostly mutuals, that have such investments.

A fintech startup is hoping that a pop-up branch approach will inspire consumers to replace check-cashing services and checking accounts with a mobile app that connects to a prepaid account.

A municipal tax collection agency in Ohio has confirmed it lost personal data for an estimated 50,000 people who filed tax forms with the agency.

Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Md., has hired four bankers to a develop a business line making Federal Housing Administration-insured loans for multifamily rental properties.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., will cut about 10% of its workforce and cancel contracts for redundant systems and services.

David Bowie was a legend in the music industry, but his name was also a presence in financial services, where his identity was synonymous with innovation.