Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass., has agreed to buy Hampden Bancorp in Springfield, Mass.

Collection industry giant NCO Financial System's parent company Expert Global Solutions (EGS) announced Monday it has closed a previously announced deal to sell several business segments to a private equity firm.

Industry veteran David Applegate will serve as CEO of Common Securitization Solutions LLC, the new firm co-owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop a common securitization platform for the mortgage secondary market.

Community bank investor Kenneth Lehman is seeking regulatory approval to buy nearly half the shares in Village Bank & Trust Financial in Midlothian, Va.

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators released a document summarizing their general findings from recent cybersecurity assessments at community-size financial institutions.

Banks, which once hoped that restaurant discounts and other card-linked offers would replace much of their lost debt swipe fee revenue, now have diminished expectations for the business.

Southern First Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., is planning to sell 1.2 million shares of its common stock.

Columbia Banking System in Tacoma, Wash., and First Business Financial Services in Madison, Wis., were among a sizable group of banking companies that completed acquisitions in recent days.

Bank of America and U.S. Bank are nearing a settlement agreement with a Chicago pension fund over charges that the banks failed to protect investors from losses during the financial crisis.

Fifth Third Bancorp has lowered fees and eased terms on short-term, small-dollar loans as it awaits clearer guidance from regulators on the product's future.

The bank's first chief data officer, A. Charles Thomas, is training his analytical eye on cross-selling opportunities, delivering instantaneous client data to employees and hiring techniques.

Bank of America's website was down for about an hour early Monday afternoon.

A group of investors has raised its stake in Doral Financial on a belief that the San Juan, Puerto Rico, company will prevail in its effort to claim a $230 million tax refund from the territory's government.

Hampton Roads Bankshares in Virginia Beach has named John Marshall Jr. as chief risk officer. He succeeds Robert Bloxom, who retired from Hampton Roads at the end of September.

AnchorBank in Madison, Wis., has agreed to sell its Richland Center retail branch to The Peoples Community Bank.

The New York Department of Financial Services will likely institute an on-ramp for new Bitcoin businesses — and possibly any other kind of money transmitting startups — as a way for them to launch without being burdened by costly licensing requirements.

Puerto Rico's economy has been in disarray for eight years, and it's taken many banks down with it. OFG weathered the financial crisis and is considering how to capitalize on its status as the island's healthiest bank.

The fate of a New York City law governing debt collections is headed to New York's highest court to answer questions resulting from Berman v. City of New York, a lawsuit brought five years ago by a collection law firm challenging the city's statute regulating collection attorney activities.

Thanks to the rise of online and mobile banking, some banks now have significant customer bases in areas where they have little branch presence. The solution is to carve out a category of virtual banks that have tailored CRA responsibilities and examination standards.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., has sold its wealth management business to a unit of Provident Financial Services in Jersey City, N.J.