The Dodd-Frank Act is a burden on community banks and credit unions but regulators are struggling to quantify the costs, according to a report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.

Prime Meridian Holding in Tallahassee, Fla., has tapped a board member to serve as its new chief financial officer.

Lawmakers are expected to debate a number of key banking provisions this year, even with the November elections on the horizon.

KeySavings Bank in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., has promoted a vice president to chief executive.

Colony Bankcorp in Fitzgerald, Ga., has redeemed about a quarter of its shares in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bruce Fenton, executive director at the Bitcoin Foundation, opened its Dec. 15 board meeting with a sense of urgency: "We need additional funds if we wish to retain employees." The numbers didn't look good. In two years, the foundation had seen at least $7 million evaporate. As of Nov. 30, its total assets stood at $12,553.06.

Relations between banks and providers of personal financial management tools have soured of late amid reports that some banks block PFM sites' access to their customers' information during peak traffic periods. Aggregators say they are working to address banks' concerns, but they also are urging banks to invest in more server capacity to keep pace with customer demand.

Recent comments by Russell Golden, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, raise questions about the board's plans to change bank accounting standards.

Emclaire Financial in Emlenton, Pa., has agreed to buy United-American Savings Bank in Pittsburgh for $14.1 million.

A new digital currency backed by gold is billing itself as a more compliant, liquid and ultimately reliable store of value than decentralized systems such as bitcoin.

Several organizations, such as Swift and The Clearing House, announced faster payments initiatives this year. Those initiatives will likely play critical roles in 2016 in helping the Fed plot ways to modernize the U.S. payments system.

As small, digital donations propel insurgent candidates from Ted Cruz to Bernie Sanders in the U.S., one opposition party an ocean away is relying on old-fashioned pocket change to fuel its rise.

Nasdaq Inc. said it used blockchain technology to complete and record a private securities transaction for the first time, as the exchange operator seeks to pull ahead of a crowded sector that so far has offered more hype than reality.

Amboy Bancorp in Amboy, Ill., has agreed to buy Franklin Grove Bank in Franklin Grove, Ill.

Debt buyer PRA Group announced that Lance L. Weaver has been appointed by the company's board of directors to serve as an independent director.

A voter initiative in South Dakota to cap payday loan interest rates at 36% will be on the state’s ballot next year despite complaints from payday lenders that it will put them out of business.

Despite increased investment and development in the consumer payments space around mag stripe, EMV and contactless payments solutions, there is still a huge concern when it comes to data theft.

WASHINGTON — An investigation into potential discriminatory lending practices of a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway is spurring attention by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Capital Bank CEO Eugene Taylor took a three-year break from acquisitions until agreeing to buy CommunityOne earlier this year. Taylor hopes the deal provides evidence that his team is a buyer – not a seller – in the year ahead.

CNB Financial in Clearfield, Pa., has agreed to buy Lake National Bank in Mentor, Ohio.