Opportunities abound, in affordable housing, capital raising, consumer lending and more. We aim to get you thinking about how new developments on many fronts could affect your business as you plan for the coming year and beyond.

Recent high-profile settlements and a New York Times article have drawn fresh attention to problems in the debt collection industry. Many of these could be resolved with the deployment of a trusted national database for consumer debt.

Dilip Ratha, an economist at the World Bank, shows how the power of a simple remittance sent from one family member to another could be magnified to improve the lives of poor people.

Heritage Bankshares in Norfolk, Va., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund, ahead of its proposed deal to be acquired by Southern BancShares in Mount Olive, N.C.

As debt collection abuse cases rise in prominence and regulators ponder new rules, it's time to give the idea of a national debt registry a closer look.

SB Financial Group in Defiance, Ohio, has bought a former Fifth Third Bank branch in Bowling Green, Ohio.

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.