Georgia once was known as the state hit with the most bank failures. Renasant's agreement to buy Heritage Financial in Albany, Ga., is the latest of several deals where buyers have paid strong premiums to enter or expand in the state.

Microsoft is working with Bitcoin merchant services provider BitPay to allow customers to seamlessly exchange the virtual currency when loading money into their Microsoft accounts.

The $1 billion-asset ESB said in a press release Thursday that it will pay $53 million in cash for the $333 million-asset Citizens National.

Kevin Cashen, has resigned as Bay Bancorp's president and chief executive just weeks after the Lutherville, Md., company posted a $942,000 third-quarter loss.

The Treasury Department has sold nearly a fifth of its stake in Puerto Rico's First Bancorp in recent months.

After a six-year delay, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will finally begin setting aside a portion of their revenues to fund the development of rental housing for low-income families.

Citigroup Inc. (C) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were among 10 banks fined today for failing to shield analysts from pressure to promote stocks a decade after a U.S. crackdown sought to end Wall Street conflicts of interest.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., is planning to join the New York Stock Exchange.

NCAL Bancorp in Los Angeles has raised nearly $11 million in the first stage of its stock sale.

Paul Camp, a veteran of JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, has joined the digital-currency consumer finance company Circle Internet Financial as the startup’s new chief financial officer.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is calling on the biggest credit reporting agencies to submit reports regularly on how they handle consumer disputes, and produce lists that name the furnishers and industries which have the most complaints.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is calling on the biggest credit reporting agencies to submit reports regularly on how they handle consumer disputes, and produce lists that name the furnishers and industries which have the most complaints.

The market for the serving underbanked customers expanded last year, mostly due to a rising demand for subprime auto loans, the Center for Financial Services Innovation said Thursday.

Paul Camp, a veteran of JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, has joined the digital-currency consumer finance company Circle Internet Financial as the startup's new chief financial officer.

Renasant Corp. in Tupelo, Miss., has agreed to buy Heritage Financial Group in Albany, Ga., for roughly $258 million.

Whether the startup's pricey valuation makes sense depends on whether you view it primarily as a tech firm or a financial company. And the answer to that question has big implications for the broader financial services world.

The spending package unveiled Tuesday would end Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees on larger loans starting Jan. 1.

Thirteen U.S. senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter to the Department of Education this week calling for it to use its authority to discharge federal student loans for students who attend colleges that break the law.

The Rural Housing Service, an agency within the Department of Agriculture, is working to speed up loan processing and make other changes to boost lending in rural communities.

Monterey Credit Union could be the first credit union to convert since mid-2013. Management hopes the move will allow it to make more small-business loans, while providing greater access to capital.