A majority of U.S. banks plan to add staff this year even as they contend with increased compliance and health care costs, according to an industry survey.

Many politicians who are partial to big government, including Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are embracing a Jan. 27 proposal by the Postal Service's inspector general to allow the post office to sell prepaid cards and make small-dollar loans. Some have dubbed the proposal a "public option" for consumer financial services.While the USPS inspector general envisions the private banking sector having some involvement in its proposal, many details of that role have yet to be determined. Countries around the world offer a variety of models on how to structure a postal bank. Following is a look at various approaches.

The Bitcoin community is in limbo after two big exchanges halted withdrawals due to a technical feature within the Bitcoin protocol that allowed fraudsters to manipulate transaction IDs.

The American Bankers Association has decided to drop its lawsuit against the final Volcker Rule, saying regulators have already addressed some of the potential damage from the regulation.

WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lack consistent policies on charging late fees on outstanding loan repurchase requests, creating an uneven playing field in the mortgage market, according to an inspector general report released Wednesday.

The single-family mortgage delinquency rate has been declining for eight straight quarters and it ended 2013 at the lowest level since 2008.

Patriot Financial is among a handful of investors to team up and bid on 1st Mariner Bank in a bankruptcy auction. Kirk Wycoff, Patriot's managing director, says his firm likes the structure and thinks it provides a market-based solution to community banks' debt hangover.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) in Cincinnati mistakenly informed credit bureaus that a number of customers had filed for bankruptcy.

Divorcees are more satisfied with how their handling their finances than married people, according to a new survey.

The clock is ticking on the Canadian bank's ambitious plan to take New York. TD has added a lot of branches and won kudos for its emphasis on customer service, but it's far short of its goal to be No. 3 in retail market share by 2016.

Being persistent and relentlessly reasonable can succeed over expressions of outrage, however justified that may be.

PHH Corp. is considering selling its mortgage banking business, a move that is apparently being driven by some of the company's investors.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has filed a lawsuit against an executive at Renasant (RNST) in an effort to recoup money from a defaulted loan from the defunct Tennessee Commerce Bank.

Talmer Bancorp in Troy, Mich., expects to raise $42.5 million in its initial public offering.

Banks have shied away from private student loans, both because of the need for scale in this business and intense scrutiny from regulators including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But these loans are performing much better than federally guaranteed student loans, says Dan Feshbach, Chief Executive of data company MeasureOne.

Sallie Krawcheck, the former Bank of America and Citigroup executive, said women haven't climbed Wall Street's corporate ranks after the 2008 credit crunch because men tend to hire people like themselves when facing a crisis.

M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) in Buffalo has revised its fourth-quarter and yearly earnings downward due to costs related to a lawsuit against its Wilmington Trust unit.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office has reached a settlement with Union Workers Credit Services Inc. (UWCS) and its president, Joe Malazzo, banning the company from offering credit or financial services or products in New York.

Daniel Lee has been accepting Bitcoin at his family's seven retail stores in Fort Greene, Brooklyn since March 2013 by having customers send the digital currency to wallet addresses he manages.