Companies offering loan assistance and credit improvement services, and their owner, agreed Monday to settle charges brought by regulators in Maryland.

Congress should avoid becoming so focused on the problems with big banks that they overlook the community lenders suffering from a lack of regulatory relief.

The powerful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is helping to reshape mortgage and payday lending, but its attempts to curb abuses in auto lending have been largely stymied by the clout of car dealers and the fragmented nature of auto finance.

WASHINGTON — A House Financial Services subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday on employee allegations of discrimination and retaliation at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

PBB Bancorp in Los Angeles has agreed to buy First Mountain Bank in Big Bear Lake, Calif., for about $13.4 million in cash and stock.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released letters Monday asking major search engines Google, Yahoo and Bing to work with state and federal regulators to crack down on scammers targeting student loan debtors.

Shares in Green Dot surged more than 30% late Monday after the firm announced the five-year renewal of a prepaid card contract with Walmart, as well as new plans for a share-buyback program.

The Dodd-Frank Act called on regulators to develop ways to assess diversity practices in the financial sector, but the guidelines are getting panned by critics who say they do not go far enough.

Glacier Bancorp in Kalispell, Mont., has named a CIT Bank executive as the likely successor to Chief Executive Mick Blodnick.

Live Oak Bancshares in Wilmington, N.C., has filed registration documents for an initial public offering, with plans to raise up to $86.3 million.

ACNB in Gettysburg, Pa., has promoted James Helt to president of its bank unit.

A House Financial Services subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday on employee allegations of discrimination and retaliation at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Community banks get almost half of their service charges from overdraft fees. That could become problematic as regulators continue to look into the issue.

Dickinson Financial in Kansas City, Mo., has consolidated several of its banks charters to cut costs and improve marketing to military members.

CoBiz Financial in Denver plans to issue up subordinated debt to redeem its shares in the Small Business Lending Fund.

The regulatory path may also be bumpier for P-to-P lenders that focus on subprime borrowers, predicts Raj Date, a former second-in-command at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Royal Financial in Chicago has agreed to sell $29.1 million in distressed assets, a deal mandated by a bankruptcy judge as part of the company's acquisition of PNA Bank.

Fewer consumers today believe it's difficult to get a mortgage than a year ago. However, the majority of survey respondents still think the origination process is too tough and that there are too few homes on the market.

Atlantic Coast Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., is in talks to restructure its debt and has reversed the valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset.

Access National in Reston, Va., said Chairman James "Ted" Jadlos resigned to focus on a mortgage-related business.