U.S. Bancorp has hired advertising agency Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners for its U.S. market, replacing the Kaplan Thaler Group.

Sterling Financial, which has 173 branches in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho, announced the launch of its free mobile app on Tuesday.

Free checking accounts are on the wane at traditional banks, according to a MoneyRates.com survey released Monday. But customers can still avoid monthly maintenance fees at a majority of online banks.

Ally Financial (GMA) in Detroit has agreed to sell $1 billion of stock to help fund the buyback of about $5.9 billion of preferred stock from the Treasury Department.

The national auto loan delinquency rate (the percentage of accounts 60 or more days past due) remained relatively flat in the second quarter ended June 30 compared with the year-ago period, moving from 0.79% to 0.80%.

Bubbles are inflating in Nevada and Arizona even as housing in the rest of the country recovers at a more sustainable pace.

Monona State Bank in Wisconsin has begun using Encompass360, Ellie Mae's system for managing mortgage originations and servicing, the financial technology company announced Tuesday.

First National Bank announced Tuesday that it's made a $300,000 investment in the Colorado Enterprise Fund's Early Stage Loan Pool.

Signature Bank (SBNY) in New York has added to its national sales staff for specialty finance.

Community Bankers Trust (ESXB) in Glen Allen, Va., has agreed to sell its Georgia operations to Community & Southern Holdings in Atlanta.

A new research report on student loan debt is pinpointing the lasting financial effects.

Banks rely on their names to create stable, trustworthy images. Unfortunately, their copy-cat tactics also create confusion and demonstrate a lack of creativity, branding experts say. Here are some notable, overused examples.

In his first sit-down interview with American Banker since winning Senate confirmation last month, CFPB Director Richard Cordray talks about what he sees as the agency's top accomplishments to date and its biggest challenges ahead.

Capital One says it will take its time in deciding the best way to bring apartment lender Beech Street Capital into the fold. Execs look to add the benefits of the originate-to-sell lender without messing up its winning formula.

F.N.B. Corp. (FNB) will cut 57 jobs at PVF Capital (PVFC) in October after it buys the Solon, Ohio, thrift company.

Doreen Eberley, the director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Division of Risk Management Supervision, says examiners are more sensitive today to risks that are not obvious on a bank's balance sheet and that banks need to scrutinize an ever-changing landscape of new products.

While some Bitcoin businesses hesitate to respond to the evolving regulatory framework surrounding digital currency, Robert Pargac, director of global investigations and compliance at Navigant Consulting, says Bitcoin businesses should stay proactive and aggressive in their approach to risk and compliance.

A surge in mortgage activity left Evolve Bank & Trust in Memphis feeling the need for a more efficient way to handle commissions and recordkeeping.

Community banks are looking at ways to keep making mortgages despite added regulation, rising rates and a shrinking refinance market.

Recognition by a market-based standards organization such as ISO, in the form of a three-letter code, would set the stage for increasing market depth and liquidity of bitcoin trading — in turn facilitating overall consumer and merchant adoption.