Bear State Financial in Little Rock, Ark., has agreed to buy Metropolitan National Bank in Springfield, Mo.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati will close or sell about 100 branches=, or about 7% of its total branch network.

Eagle Bancorp Montana in Helena has completed a $10 million private placement of subordinated bonds.

Two community banks that focus on underbanked and low-income populations, City First Bank of D.C. and Southern Bancorp in Arkadelphia, Ark., have joined an international group that promotes socially and environmentally responsible development.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the need to hold bankers accountable for criminal deeds and whether the FDIC's proposed recordkeeping requirement is smart planning or pointless.

BB&T's auto-finance division will stop dealers from marking up the price on sales contracts, and instead will offer a flat-fee compensation program.

U.S. consumers are increasingly using their credit cards rather than tapping home-equity credit lines to pay debts or finance a big purchase, according to Sanford C. Bernstein.

Many lenders may not have been ready for the CFPB's new mortgage disclosure rule if it took effect on Aug. 1 as planned. Now a slip-up by the agency itself has given lenders a two-month reprieve.

Silicon Valley firms like Apple and Lending Club are happy to partner with banks — so long as they get to be the face of customer interactions. But banks may not easily give up that ground.

The Consumer Services division of Washington state's Department of Financial Institutions has accused Quicken Loans of sending false claims in direct mail advertising to military members.

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.