Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (PMBC) in Costa Mesa, Calif., has hired an executive from SVB Financial Group (SIVB) to lead a niche lending unit.

A federal judge raised the possibility that banks will have to repay billions of dollars to merchants, but legal experts say the court lacks the authority to enact such an order.

New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky discusses what he regards as right and wrong with financial services, the perils of taking on too many regulatory challenges and why so few top executives have faced the long arm of the law.

Cullen/Frost Bankers, led by Dick Evans, is breaking into oil-rich west Texas with a deal for WNB Bancshares. The seller was attractive partly because it resembled Cullen/Frost, Evans says.

Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) in Warren, Pa., has launched a service to help customers track royalties earned on gas and oil leases.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued updated exam procedures on Thursday for a slew of mortgage rules due to take effect next year.

Naugatuck Savings in Connecticut is rebranding itself "Ion Bank" because it wants to expand into other markets. CEO Chuck Boulier warns others considering a name change that it takes a lot of time and expense.

Community banks need help. Bigger banks can provide them a lifeline. But it comes with a cost: the loss of bankers who understand the local community.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated enforcement actions with Marquette Financial in Minneapolis and Bank of Virginia in Midlothian.

A court ruling that debit card fee caps be lowered could also enable merchants to play card networks against one another.

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania (RBPAA) in Narberth recorded a second-quarter loss that it attributed to the cost of settling two long-standing legal issues.

CommunityOne in Asheboro, N.C., went from the brink of failure to a model of recovery in a few years. But it took new management, private-equity money, an acquisition and an accounting ace in the hole to get it done.

Certegy Check Services Inc., one of the largest check authorization service companies, agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The Federal Reserve Board has unanimously approved acquisitions by Hana Financial Group in Seoul, Korea, and Live Oak Bancshares in Wilmington, N.C.

Foreclosure filings in July — including default notices, auctions and bank repossessions — climbed 2% from a 78-month low in June but were still 32% lower than a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.

Most policymakers agree that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be unwound and replaced with a system more dependent on the private market, but cleaning up the failed government-sponsored enterprises will be a challenge unlike anything attempted before.

The latest municipal attempt to seize underwater mortgages by eminent domain is an abuse of this most awesome governmental power.

Capital One Financial Corp. reported delinquencies for its U.S. credit-card business increased in July from June, while its international credit cards delinquencies fell, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

1st Constitution Bancorp in Cranbury, N.J., has agreed to acquire Rumson-Fair Haven Bank and Trust Co. in Rumson, N.J.

Mercantile Bank announced a deal Thursday that would make it the third-largest bank based in Michigan.