Pressure from community groups forced Valley National Bancorp to strengthen its commitment to lend in low-and moderate-income neighborhoods in order to win approval for a Florida acquisition. Other banks, too, are now placing CRA efforts front-and-center as they aim to sell deals to the public and their regulators.

The NCUA is proposing changes that would allow credit unions to approve applications more expeditiously, eliminating an edge long held by banks. The agency is also ready to let members make more commercial development loans.

Austin Capital Bank, a $71.4 million-asset institution based in Texas, will originate loans for a new online consumer lending platform called Self Lender, the two companies announced.

Incorporating bill and rental payment data into consumer credit scores would be a boon for underserved Americans. New legislation in Congress could help credit reporting agencies realize this goal.

Since the start of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the debt collection industry has lived in a box of great unknowns.

Yadkin Financial in Raleigh, N.C., has agreed to sell two branches in North Carolina to Select Bancorp in Dunn, N.C.

Ally Financial and Ally Bank is starting to pay back $80 million to minority borrowers that the federal government found were victims of discrimination as a result of the companies’ indirect auto lending business.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has fined a medical debt collector and ordered the company to provide financial relief to consumers for mishandling credit-reporting disputes.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

Kabbage, the online small business lender, has announced a partnership to make loans to customers of United Parcel Service, the global delivery firm.

FHA tries to clarify what loan defects will bring the harshest penalties to guide lenders and instill more confidence.

First Mid-Illinois Bancshares in Mattoon plans to sell about $29.3 million in common stock in a private placement.

Home Bancorp in Lafayette, La., has agreed to buy Louisiana Bancorp in Metairie for about $75 million, or $24.25 a share, in cash. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

JPMorgan investment banker Jimmy Lee was widely eulogized as a legendary networker and bright spirit this week, but American Banker also remembers him as a builder and defender of the hotly debated universal-banking model.

A technical error made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has become a saving grace for lenders who had pushed, begged and pleaded for more time to comply with a new mortgage disclosure rule.

The banking industry, which wanted curbs on costly lawsuits over unwanted robo-calls to consumers, was dealt a rebuke Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission.

It turns out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's failure to file a two-page form to Congress on time was the unspecified "administrative error" that delayed the effective date for new mortgage disclosure rules.

The Federal Communications Commission rejected requests by banks and other companies that would have curbed lawsuits over unwanted phone calls to consumers.

The yield curve has steepened in recent weeks, but bankers caution that it could take months or years for any benefits — or risks — to become apparent in financial results.

A flood of ex-homeowners may be ready to re-enter the mortgage market over the next five years, according to a TransUnion report.