Paula Johannsen was the most-active financial adviser at midyear with six mergers under her belt. In a wide-ranging interview, she discusses Florida M&A, compliance delays and the reasoning behind mergers of equals.

Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C., an Atlanta-based creditors’ rights and collection law firm, has expanded its legal collection footprint by opening an office in Greenville, S.C., that will service the entire state.

Local officials in Daly City, Calif. will review Monday whether to approve legislation that will prohibit new payday lending businesses from opening within 2,000 feet of existing payday lenders.

The mobile-centric consumer lender is turning to MoneyGram's vast retail network in an effort to reach borrowers who prefer to use cash. The partnership applies to borrowers in 15 states, but LendUp hopes to partner with a bank to take its service nationwide.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are relying more and more on their income from loan guarantee fees just at a time when their regulator is considering a proposal to reduce those fees.

Shares in Green Bancorp jumped nearly 14% following the Houston company’s initial public offering.

Regulators have released MetaBank in Storm Lake, Iowa, from a consent order tied to a payday-like loan program it once offered.

Executives at Allegiance Bancshares have long been vocal about their desire to take the Houston company public. The company recently agreed to buy Farmers & Merchants Bancshares, giving it one more opportunity to boost its profile before taking the plunge.

Mutual of Omaha Bank has agreed to sell five branches to CIC Bancshares in Denver.

Santander Consumer received a civil subpoena from the Department of Justice about its subprime auto lending business, part of a probe into practices in the booming area of financing car purchases for people with spotty credit.

Northern Trust in Chicago has appointed Peter Jordan as head of global fund services for the bank's Asia-Pacific region.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

Fair Isaac's new credit scoring model includes enhancements to evaluate borrowers with limited credit histories and quantify the risk associated with different types of debt.

Fair Isaac Co. revealed Thursday that its revamped credit score model will not weigh medical debt as heavily as previous versions, a key change given that medical debt accounts for nearly half of all unpaid collections on consumers' credit reports.

More than 1,300 consumers victimized by two related mortgage relief scams will be getting approximately $800,000 as a result of a settlement announced Friday by the federal government.

The deal is for approximately $70 million in cash with Encore Capital making additional payments totaling $126 million to retire some of Atlantic Credit & Finance's debts and obligations.

Banner Corp. in Walla Walla, Wash., has agreed to buy Siuslaw Financial Group in Florence, Ore.

Peoples Bancorp in Marietta, Ohio, has raised $40 million through a private placement.

Peyton Patterson has resigned from Bankwell Financial in New Canaan, Conn., less than two months after she was ordered to pay $350,000 in Amex bills and had to resolve other personal financial matters. She had led the company since 2012.

Two separate cases involving collection agencies that allegedly violated federal debt collection laws were closed Thursday in settlements announced by the Federal Trade Commission.