Independent Bank in Rockland, Mass., has agreed to buy Peoples Federal Bancshares in Brighton.

Anchor Bancorp in Madison, Wis., is back on solid ground with federal regulators.

Ocean Shore Holding in New Jersey has completed a buyback of 200,000 shares of its common stock and has authorized an additional repurchase program.

Stronger margins are no automatic byproduct of next year's anticipated increase in interest rates. Higher rates are expected to spark a runoff of deposits at various banks, and some of those banks are more vulnerable than others to steep losses of low-cost funding.

Citigroup's $285 million mortgage-securities pact with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was approved by a judge whose earlier rejection of the accord was assailed by a federal appeals court.

Third-party debt collectors recovered $55.2 billion last year for creditor and government clients, returning to them an estimated $45 billion.

Banks with at least $10 billion in assets are becoming more aggressive when it comes to giving out small business loans, but the group still approves credit at a much smaller rate than its competitors, a Biz2Credit study found.

As consolidation picks up, buyers and sellers must examine their vendor contracts to make sure terms and pricing are in their favor.

First South Bank in Washington, N.C., has replaced a small outpost with a new full service banking office in the greater Outer Banks area.

The operator of a massive mobile cramming scheme agreed to surrender more than $1.2 million in assets to settle FTC charges. The assets include several bank accounts, two luxury cars, shares in a number of startup companies and multiple luxury watches.

A report on big bank subsidies offers proof that statutory, regulatory, and industry changes have strengthened the financial system in the years since the crisis, according to Financial Services Forum chief Rob Nichols.

New OCC guidelines for the sale of consumer debt detail the steps banks must take before selling charged-off consumer loans, including making banks responsible for performing due diligence on debt buyers before a sale.

Nearly one in four U.S. banks reported they eased mortgage-lending standards for borrowers with strong credit during the second quarter.

First Internet Bancorp in Indianapolis has appointed its next chief financial officer.

On the West Coast, bankers are talking about starting new banks after a long period with scarcely any new charters, according to industry consultant and former California regulator Walter Mix. While in the aftermath of the crisis regulators seemed to have an unofficial moratorium on de novos, they now appear poised to evaluate applications on the merits, he says. Meanwhile, banks seeking approvals for mergers today can expect to be evaluated on a host of compliance matters, including unfair and deceptive acts and practices, Mix says.

In politics, every penny counts to secure a candidate's position in office. Bitcoin's low cost of acceptance, accompanied by increasing clarity from regulators over its role in campaigns, is making it a more appealing choice for accepting donations.

The Dallas Women’s Foundation has awarded $3.1 million in grants to 98 nonprofits, including Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Greater Dallas, which received $120,000 a year for three years.

Brian Bailey, who oversaw Wilmington Trust's lending activity in Delaware, conspired to conceal the company's actual financial condition, according to a news release issued Monday by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued new guidelines on the sale of consumer debt, a move that could help reform a practice that consumer groups say is plagued by errors and abuses.

Equity Bank in Wichita, Kan., has agreed to sell two Kansas City branches to TriCentury Bank in Simpson, Kan.