Summit Financial Group in Moorefield, W.Va., said its employee stock-ownership plan has acquired a stake in the company from a Louisiana bank.

Prospective borrowers for single-family homes will be required to make a minimum down payment of 15% of the purchase price, down from 20%. The borrower must have a minimum FICO score of 680, down from 740.

Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., has purchased of $3 million worth of its trust-preferred securities.

Washington Trust has significantly increased its deposit market share in Rhode Island in the past five years, without buying any banks, and is casting its eye across the state's borders. We talk growth strategy with the company's CEO and its COO.

Cordia Bancorp in Midlothian, Va., has named O.R. "Ed" Barham president and chief executive of Bank of Virginia.

Gallup has settled a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class-action lawsuit concerning an alleged violation of the law through use of an autodialer to call consumers. Gallup will provide a $12 million settlement fund.

The operators of a credit repair scheme that allegedly tricked Spanish-speaking consumers into paying thousands of dollars each to improve their credit have settled FTC charges.

Frontline employees shape their own work environments as well as the experiences of their customers — as demonstrated by a trip to the much-dreaded Department of Motor Vehicles.

Freddie Mac's second-quarter single-family funding was the strongest it's been in a year, positioning the company to supplant the coming drop in refinancing with purchase mortgages.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig on Tuesday reiterated his plan for banks that stick to "traditional" banking models and maintain high capital ratios to receive eased regulatory requirements, but added an extra incentive to the mix.

Great Western Bancorp in Sioux Falls, S.D., has named former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. vice chairman Andrew "Skip" Hove its new chairman.

An Astoria Financial investor is demanding that the Lake Success, N.Y., company explore a possible sale or other ways to increase shareholder value.

TriState Capital Holdings in Pittsburgh has promoted its bank's chief risk officer to bank president.

NCR Corp. said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission doesn't intend to recommend enforcement action against the company over 2012 allegations of foreign business violations.

Disclosure of confidential client information by the lead counsel for a group of merchants "fatally tainted" a 2013 settlement with American Express, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, auguring poorly for a similar settlement with Visa and MasterCard.

The first stress tests for regional banks show loan losses closely in line with the postcrisis period. However, an independent analysis suggests losses likely would be even higher.

First Bancorp, OFG Bancorp and Popular Inc. have been trimming exposure to central government loans in recent years to limit their exposure to a financial crisis. Most still bank the island's municipalities, though they have strict underwriting and collateral to protect their interests.

F.N.B. Corp. in Pittsburgh has agreed to buy Metro Bancorp in Harrisburg, Pa.

A U.S. judge rejected American Express Co.'s settlement with merchants over credit card fees after finding the plaintiffs' lawyer tainted the deal by exchanging confidential information with an attorney for MasterCard Inc.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit in federal court against a web of payday lending companies, alleging that they collected money that consumers did not owe and falsely threatened consumers with lawsuits and imprisonment.