Utah-based SecurityNational Mortgage Co. has agreed to a monetary settlement of a claim by Bank of America that it sold the Charlotte, N.C.-based lender defective mortgage loans.

The Colorado Attorney General's office reports that more than 165,000 state residents owed $56 million to payday lenders at the end of 2013 and the number of people taking out such loans is rising, according to an annual report.

Banks' post-crisis flight to caution has drawn comparisons to low-risk public utilities, but some institutions are seeing opportunities to take new risks again under the watch of new regulation.

Gliph is combining its secure messaging app with its Bitcoin payment capabilities to form an online and mobile app, called Gliph Marketplace, to compete with Craigslist.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday named Michael Dean as the director of the agency's Atlanta region. He had been serving as acting director of the region since April.

Jimmy Dunne, a senior managing principal at the Sandler O'Neill, recently discusses the state of bank M&A, the importance of size and scale and why he never wants to take his New York investment bank public.

First Merchants in Muncie, Ind., has agreed to acquire C Financial in Columbus, Ohio.

The hunt for scale has long been one of the chief reasons for dealmaking, but Jimmy Dunne, senior managing principal of Sandler O'Neill, says that today's operating and regulatory environment shows the true need to find efficiency through size.

The regulatory environment for small deals is improving as regulators see how consolidation can help move the industry further away from the crisis, says Jimmy Dunne, senior managing principal of Sandler O'Neill.

Technology companies are wooing customers away from traditional financial institutions. If banks want to address this threat, they need to rethink their business models and stop chasing profits at all costs.

Sierra Vista Bank in Folsom, Calif., has named a new chairman.

Diebold has introduced antimicrobial touchscreens to its automated teller machines.

Chemical Financial in Midland, Mich., has agreed to buy Lake Michigan Financial in Holland.

Smaller banks are eager to launch new businesses to increase noninterest income. But a new survey indicates that many are struggling to generate returns from such endeavors.

Federal Savings Bank in Chicago has agreed to buy Baytree National Bank & Trust in Lake Forest, Ill.

Last year started with a failed stress test and ended with the bank under scrutiny for everything from its capital management to its subprime auto lending policies. But regaining the confidence of regulators is only half the battle; Santander must also figure out how to regain market share it’s been losing to competitors.

The Federal Reserve Board reappointed O.B. Grayson Hall Jr., chairman and chief executive at Regions Financial, to its Federal Advisory Council.

The Wisconsin Bankers Association has agreed to merge with the Community Bankers of Wisconsin.

With Republicans now controlling both chambers of Congress and signals from Democrats that they are open to alterations, revisions to Dodd-Frank are at the top of the agenda in addition to other subjects, like terrorism insurance and housing finance reform.

Moven has modified its personal financial management app to work on a smartwatch. Will millennials be more likely to heed spending advice delivered to their wrists rather than their phones?