Merchants Bank of Bangor in Pennsylvania has tapped its chief operating officer, Tracey Smith, to become chief executive next year.

The Bank of New Mexico said that its chairman and chief executive will switch roles at the beginning of next year.

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America's chairman and CEO, told investors Thursday that revenue from fixed-income and equity markets should decline by 5% to 6% in the third quarter compared with a year ago. The Charlotte, N.C., bank will continue to have a higher efficiency ratio relative to its peers because of the high costs of paying financial advisers.

Codorus Valley Bancorp in York, Pa., has Brian Brunner to the board of its PeoplesBank. Brunner is the division president of account and item processing sales within Fiserv's global sales organization.

Interest rates are still at zero, and banks will still be OK — though they may have to do a little scrambling. That could mean a shift away from short-term, rate-sensitive assets, or yet another round of cost-cutting.

The quest for secure, yet really quick and easy enrollment and login for bank accounts, has evaded banks for years, and it’s become more important than ever.

Wells Fargo is raising minimum credit score requirements on Federal Housing Administration loans, part of the ongoing jockeying by large banks to limit lawsuits by the Justice Department for defective FHA loans.

House lawmakers from both parties had tough words Thursday for the National Credit Union Administration about its revised risk-based capital proposal.

Activity at credit unions has been on the rise since the Bank Transfer Day movement in November 2011. It remains to be seen, however, if credit unions can succeed at keeping many of those relationships.

The Stamford, Conn.-based credit card issuer expects to be independent by the end of the year, and predicts that it will benefit from its separation from General Electric.

Faster payments have a lot of benefits — and one big downside. A new electronic payments system could make it easier for people to unwittingly send money to scammers and harder for fraud victims to get their money back.

Prudential Bancorp in Philadelphia has named Anthony Migliorino to the newly created job of chief operating officer.

Fiserv has completed a test run of its card-free ATM software, in partnership with VyStar Credit Union.

A total of 109,561 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - in August, down 12% from July and down 6% from a year ago.

The results of a nine-year study of consumers enrolled in debt settlement programs show consumers realize financial benefits and have a higher probability of success since regulatory reforms took effect in 2010.

Fundera, which runs a website where small-business owners can shop for loans, has raised $11.5 million in new equity funding.

Community banks will soon have a new way to lend to each other, though it is unclear how eager they might be to participate.

BankUnited in Miami Lakes, Fla., will book a $50 million income-tax benefit in the third quarter.

The operators of a fraudulent collection scheme will be banned from the collection business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, resolving charges that they illegally processed more than $5.2 million in payments for phony debts.

The third quarter ends in two weeks, and top executives at Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and two regional banks are raising concerns about cost pressures, impediments to revenue growth and heightened lending risks.