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

Salin Bank and Trust in Indianapolis has named Matthew Fields as vice president, business development officer.

BBCN Bancorp (BBCN) in Los Angeles has hired a senior manager at HSBC to become its first chief retail banking officer.

The defendants in two separate alleged scams have settled charges with the Federal Trade Commission and will be banned from providing mortgage- and debt-relief services.

Banks lost $1.7 billion to deposit-account fraud, according to an American Bankers Association survey.

U.S. Bancorp (USB) has promoted P.W. Parker to vice chairman and chief risk officer, the Minneapolis company said Thursday.

The Federal Reserve Board has approved a delayed merger between United Bancshares in Charleston, W.Va., and Virginia Commerce Bancorp in Arlington.

Federal regulators on Thursday issued a final rule that exempts some mortgage loans and refinances from appraisal requirements established under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Banking groups fear the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already gearing up to write tough new rules restricting the use of arbitration clauses despite promises by agency officials that a study on the issue was only "preliminary" and not designed to pass judgment.

Buyers of failed banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have mutual interests in closing out loss-share agreements even before they are due to sunset in coming years.

Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch agreed to pay about $131 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims it failed to tell investors that hedge fund Magnetar Capital LLC had a role in selecting assets for two 2006 mortgage-backed securities.

Before agreeing to sell itself to East West, the Houston company tried to connect with Chinese banks. Could other banks follow MetroCorp's lead?

The first new bank in three years recently cleared the hurdles necessary to open its doors. To do so, Bank of Bird-in-Hand's backers had to file 18 inches of paperwork, raising the question of whether regulators have become so strict that they'll encourage financial innovators to go elsewhere and leave community banks to languish.

The founding chairman of U.S. Century Bank in Miami will step down.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has distributed close to $90 million to customers through a rewards program for those who have both a checking account and a mortgage with the bank.

Mortgage delinquencies are likely to fall in 2014 as late payments on credit cards rise, according to an annual forecast from TransUnion.

BBX Capital in Florida, which sold BankAtlantic to BB&T last year, has added Hoffman's Chocolates to its wide-ranging holdings.

Banks may want to think twice before introducing new fees and increasing charges, according to a new survey from MoneyRates.com.

Croghan Bancshares (CHBH) in Fremont, Ohio, has bought Indebancorp in Oak Harbor.

Credit card delinquency rates are expected to rise nearly 10% from 1.51% in Q4 2013 to 1.66% in Q4 2014, according to TransUnion, which also released mortgage delinquency rate forecasts.