BancorpSouth (BXS) in Tupelo, Miss., has acquired Knox Insurance Group in Lafayette, La.

Wintrust Financial (WTFC) in Rosemont, Ill., has agreed to buy 11 branches in Wisconsin from Talmer Bancorp (TLMR) in Troy, Mich.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has sued four online payday lenders and a loan lead generator promoted by talk show host Montel Williams.

Legal battles took a toll on JPMorgan Chase, but CEO Jamie Dimon is now urging investors to focus on the future. Among his top initiatives for 2014: making the most of big data and strengthening cybersecurity.

More companies are accepting "altcoins" such as Litecoin and Dogecoin in addition to the more common Bitcoin, showing that even silly currencies based on Internet memes can open merchants to new markets of consumers.

The White House is considering two community bankers to fill an open seat on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, according to two people with knowledge of the process.

Lenders are increasingly using U.S. courts to foreclose on delinquent homeowners in states where it's not required to reduce the risk of falling afoul of new protections.

A study released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says statistical trends suggest that community banks have been resilient and will remain relevant, despite the rapid decline in charters.

Sugar Creek Financial in Trenton, Ill., has completed its conversion from a mutual holding company to a publicly traded company.

MBT Financial (MBTF) in Monroe, Mich., has extended the expiration date for its rights offering.

Riverview Community Bank in Vancouver, Wash., has been freed from a formal agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Some large banks have adopted more consumer-friendly policies, but many still engage in practices that seem designed to maximize overdraft fees, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The Independent Community Bankers of America is taking issue with Wall Street's opinion that banks need scale to survive. The group has urged members to tune out "defeatist talk" about smaller banks.

Regulators slammed Bank of America on Wednesday with their toughest enforcement action to date on shady marketing and billing practices for add-on products like identity protection, forcing it to pay $772 million in restitution and fines. But Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials indicated more actions are on their way.

CertusBank has terminated its top executive team, effective immediately, the $1.7 billion-asset bank announced Wednesday.

The Michigan company has pledged $1 million to help people buy homes in the Marygrove College neighborhood. Homeowners can get up to $25,000 and have $5,000 shaved off the balance each year they live there.

Two companies that operated as consumer-reporting agencies settled charges on Wednesday that they violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If regulators really want banks to invest more heavily in their communities then they should consider giving banks some reward, such as reduced deposit insurance premiums, for achieving a top CRA rating.

Continuing its expansion in Michigan, Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) in Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to purchase 11 branches in the eastern part of the state from Bank of America (BAC).

For big banks, good first-quarter earnings news is likely to be in short supply. In addition to struggling with the usual suspects — weak loan demand, more regulation — they have a number of institution-specific issues to contend with. American Banker editors discuss.