WASHINGTON — There are more than 7 million borrowers in default on federal or private student loans, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Lawmakers have accused Raj Date, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's former No. 2, of lobbying his old employer and profiting from a mortgage rule he wrote. Yet ethics experts, and even some of those who formerly accused him of wrongdoing, now say the charges are bogus.

With the market starting to value banks on their earnings rather than their book values, buyers are looking for deals that will prop up their bottom lines over the long term and are willing to pay more.

HSBC, Europe's largest lender, said possible damages from a lawsuit filed by a U.S. regulator over improperly sold mortgage-backed securities could cost the bank as much as $1.6 billion.

The Federal Reserve Board's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey said credit conditions are improving for commercial and industrial loans but standards remain tight on mortgages and consumer debt.

Blue Hills Bank in Boston is buying a New England franchise from Sovereign Bank.

Noninterest expenses remain persistently high at community banks as a need to pursue revenue undermines efforts to aggressively make cuts.

SunTrust Banks (STI) in Atlanta has committed $5 billion to funding commercial mortgages originated by MetLife (MET).

The $22.5 billion Structured Agency Credit Risk transaction serves its purpose, but shows how much more work and thinking needs to be done to redesign the housing finance system.

The feature presents a win-win scenario for banks and their customers as well as an opportunity for mobile-centric financial startups that can serve as the catalyst for widespread adoption.

Fifth Third (FITB) in Cincinnati is selling $85 million worth of shares of Vantiv, its former subsidiary.

Patapsco Bancorp (PATD) in Baltimore has appointed Phil Phillips its new chief executive after recording a quarterly loss.

Fans of Major League baseball are familiar with Citi Field (New York), Comerica Park (Detroit), Chase Field (Phoenix) and PNC Park (Pittsburgh). But they might not have heard of the many minor league ballparks named after banks. From BB&T Park - home of the Winston-Salem Dash - to Whitaker Bank Park in Lexington, Ky., here's a sampling of minor league venues at which banks own the naming rights.

Suffolk Bancorp (SUBK) in Riverhead, N.Y., will record a pretax gain of nearly $4 million in the third quarter after selling shares in Visa.

Hanmi Financial (HAFC) in Los Angeles has hired Bonita Lee, a recently departed executive from BBCN Bancorp (BBCN), as its chief operating officer.

It’s not often that early warnings of future challenges are clear, but it seems that rising interest rates will soon stress a collections operation. Fortunately, with data analytics, firms can prepare and leverage recent gains in compliance and customer experience so that rising delinquencies don’t drive inefficiencies or unnecessary cost increases.

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Heritage Oaks Bancorp (HEOP) in Paso Robles, Calif., has agreed to repurchase the stock warrants it issued through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.